Midnight Shadows
by Mieren
Summary: Magic and strangeness. Slightly AU. Be nice. This was the first fic I ever wrote. Complete!
1. Part 1

Midnight Shadows

By Mieren

Sage blinked, head snapping up.Something had triggered his senses, standing the hair on the back of his neck on end.Noticing his look, the others froze, eyeing him askance.

Kento paused in shoveling food into his mouth, blinking at his friend from across the table.

Something wrong?" Rowen voiced the question that they had all been thinking.

"Something's here," he whispered, rising slowly.The others jumped to their feet without further question, thoroughly unnerved by the expression on their friend's face.They had never seen him so horrified.

Sage was in his full armor before reaching the front door, the others following suit in a mixture of worry and confusion.The five circled the house nearly a half a dozen times before Sage snapped.

"Where are you?" he shrieked into the stillness.

White Blaze roared suddenly, ears flattening to his head as he snarled at the thick trees beginning on the edge of Mia's property.The Ronins gathered behind the massive tiger, raising their weapons cautiously and eyeing the trees uncertainly.

A shadow detached itself from the darkness, the blurred figure resolving into a terrifying abomination before their disbelieving eyes.A long sinuous body decorated by long spikes and heavy ridges landed before them on its eight legs, triangular maw raising slowly to regard the five boys contemptuously.Blood red eyes narrowed as Ryo and Sage leveled their weapons.

"What the hell is that?" Kento shrieked, leaping back, arms flapping wildly.

"Flare Up Now!" Ryo screamed, unwilling to wait to find out the answer to his friend's question.

The greenish bronze abomination calmly stepped aside as the sure-kill shot by it, snarling at the boy that had unleashed that devastating blow in its direction.Scaled lips peeled away from pearly teeth lined in several rows in the massive jaw.Spitting out a few unintelligible words, a blast of energy shot towards the five boys in front of the beast, who nimbly leapt out of the way.

The twisted creature watched with interest as the tiger evaded his blast with ease, wondering idly what the great cat was doing here.It didn't have long to ponder the tiger's presence before a second sure-kill was thrown in its direction, immediately followed by a third and fourth.It sidestepped the blows calmly, hissing angrily.

"Guys!" Yuley called out loudly as he darted from the house.

"Yuley!No!"

A second blast from the creature shot towards the young boy.White Blaze, too far off to get to the boy, tackled the scaled abomination, sinking his fangs into the ridged neck.Yuley's scream echoed through the trees for a mere instant.A flash of blinding light erupted from the eight-legged creature as it thrashed from beneath White Blaze's furious slashes.

The five boys stared in horror at the sight that greeted them when the searing light cleared from the air.Yuley lay still on the ground, skin blackened and body incinerated beyond healing.A crater scarred the lawn where the beast had been before vanishing, taking the great tiger with him.

***

The funeral was held that night, Mia's cries piercing the darkness from where she clung to Ryo's shoulder near the small grave.The Ronins waited until she had passed out, with a little help from Sage's soothing powers, before discussing what they were going to do.

"I say it was from the Dynasty!" Kento insisted for at least the hundredth time.

"We know it was!That doesn't help!" Sage screamed at him in frustration.

"We need to mount a counterattack now before they can send another one of those things!We've already lost Yuley and White Blaze!What's next?Mia?Us?"

"We can't just attack without a plan, Kento!We don't know what we're up against!We didn't even scratch the thing!It just left, or have you already forgotten?"

"I think we should attack!"

"Guys, this isn't helping!" Cye wailed, trying to keep Sage and Kento from one another's throats.

"I agree with Kento," Ryo said softly, drawing everyone's attention.This was the first time he had spoken since the battle earlier in the day.

"There must be a gateway somewhere that we haven't seen," Rowen said calmly, relying on logic, as always, to solve any problem."We should look for it so that no more of those things will appear."

"Fine!Lets go!" Kento roared, leaping to his feet.

"This can wait until morning," Cye cried out, grabbing his friend's arm.

"He's right.We're at a severe disadvantage in the dark," Rowen murmured thoughtfully, chewing his lower lip.

Ryo pushed himself to his feet, storming off to his room.Sage immediately recognized the guilty look on his face and followed him, intent on forcing his friend to see some sense even if it killed them both.

The next morning the five Ronins started their search in the city, but it would be a long time before they found anything relating to the monstrosity that had taken two of their companions from them.

***

"Guys," Kento said softly, poking Rowen in the ribs."There's someone over there."Rowen glanced in the direction he pointed and shook his head slowly.

"I don't see anyone.Are you sure you're not hallucinating?It's been a full hour since you've eaten after all.Really Kento, the city's empty."

"I'm not hallucinating," Kento griped defensively, "there's someone over there."When the others continued to ignore him, Kento muttered something thankfully unintelligible under his breath and trotted over to the alley he had been staring at so intently.

As Kento neared the alley, he barely had time to shout before crumpling to the ground.A tall, lithe figure cloaked in solid black darted past him and tore down the street at a seemingly impossible speed.Cye took off immediately, the others following after a moment as Kento pushed himself unsteadily to his feet.Cye's eyes widened as he realized that he was losing ground.He was a fast runner, quicker than all of his friends, faster still in his subarmor, but he was falling behind.

The person in black pivoted suddenly, bolting down another alley.Cye spun expertly to follow, gasping as he turned into an empty alley.He glanced around furiously and was rewarded with a glimpse of a black boot leaving a fire escape for the roof.Not bothering with the fire escape, Cye jumped up to the roof.The black figure leapt frantically away from Cye, a vagrant breeze pulling the hood back from the shrouded face only to reveal a young girl.

She glanced at Cye, her green eyes wild, long black hair wildly disarrayed from the slight breeze and whipping about her slender form.As Cye opened his mouth to tell her that he wasn't going to hurt her, she bolted again, launching herself off of the five-story roof. With a bit-off curse, Cye jumped after her, latching onto her wrist before they had fallen more than a story.Tucking her deftly under one arm, Cye twisted in midair to land surely on his feet.Before Cye could even open his mouth time, he wilted to the ground as the slender girl proved to be very flexible by planting one of her sturdy boots into the back of his skull.

The girl was already on her feet and running before Cye hit the ground, only to be cut off at the end of the alley by Ryo, Sage, and Rowen.As Sage slipped past her to help pull Cye to his feet, the cloaked girl tackled Rowen, cracking her fists across his face three times in rapid succession.As Ryo moved to intercept her, she lashed out with one leg, kicking his feet out from under him.Ryo spun nimbly in his fall to catch himself, but grunted as he was thrown to the side as the girl's other leg lashed out, her boot heel catching him in the temple.

Kento appeared at the opening of the alley as the girl sped out, and was promptly decked as she passed.He tried frantically to grab one of her ankles as he fell, only to be kicked in the ribs forcefully with a steel-toed boot for his efforts.As he tried to roll to his feet, Cye and Sage sprinted past him, quickly followed by a bloodied Rowen.Ryo paused in passing to haul him to his feet.

As Ryo and Kento trotted unsteadily into the street, they found themselves in a scene of absolute chaos.Sage, Cye and Rowen had surrounded the panting girl, Sage on one knee clutching his forehead to slow the stream of blood oozing between his fingers.Cye and Rowen were leaping about wildly in futile attempts to dodge the stones and chunks of pavement flying through the air courtesy of the cloaked girl.Ryo barely had time to gape in shock before a blinding pain exploded between his eyes.Kento grabbed Ryo's arm before he could do a face-plant in the pavement, only to be immediately dropped by another rock himself.

Kento heaved himself to his feet, swearing loudly.Crossing his arms in front of his head, he charged the girl.Upon reaching her, he firmly tucked her under one arm to stop her infernal rock throwing and turned to Sage, offering his free hand to pull his swaying friend to his feet.

"Don't hold her like that, Kento!"Cye cried out, his warning coming too late for Kento as a heavy boot landed in the back of his skull.

The girl tried to slip away, only to have one arm caught by a glaring Sage.She rolled into his arm, swinging her foot viciously.Sage's eyes widened as he lifted a few inches off of the ground.He glanced down at his subarmor, swallowing as he considered what his chances with girls in the future would've been without it.His eyes snapped back to the girl an instant too late as her fist took him fully in the jaw.

As Sage crumpled, Rowen tackled her, the two of them rolling across the pavement in a tangle of arms and legs.Being the stronger and heavier of the two, Rowen quickly pinned the girl, kneeling on her wrists and holding her shoulders firmly to the ground.Tossing his head to flip a bloody lock of hair out of his eyes, Rowen opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing in an abandoned city, only to have his breath rush out between his teeth as a knee landed firmly in his back.A second blow flipped him over her head.

Cye grabbed her as she rose, holding her close enough that she couldn't use her legs to clobber him again.He wisely kept her arms pinned securely to her sides, understandably wary of her fists and elbows."Now…" he began, stopping abruptly as stars exploded in his vision as her forehead slammed into his.

The girl staggered unsteadily to her feet, intent on running once again, only to go down for good as she was tackled by Ryo and Kento both.Ryo kept her arms pinned, glaring at her angrily while Kento laid across her legs, swaying somewhat unsteadily.

Rowen walked over unsteadily, more than half-supporting Sage and Cye, both of which were barely conscious.All of them were bloodied.

"Now, what are you doing here?The city has been empty for months."Ryo tensed as she shifted in his grasp."We're not going to hurt you.We just want to talk," he said slowly.

The girl glared at Ryo, her eyes narrowing and lips peeling away from her teeth in a feral snarl.She bucked wildly in his grasp, one shoulder producing a sickeningly loud pop.At the sound she gasped and shuddered, the muscles on that side of her body going completely limp.Ryo winced, wondering how badly she had just hurt herself.He was abruptly snapped away from wondering as she snarled menacingly, nearly foaming at the mouth in her blind rage.Although her left arm remained entirely still, every other muscle fought against being held, quivering in his grasp.

"We are not going to hurt you," Ryo repeated softly, glancing at his friends, knowing that the startled expressions on their faces must be mirrored by the one on his own.He glanced back down at the girl as she relaxed slightly in his grasp.Getting up slowly, he released her and motioned for Kento to do the same.She leapt to her feet, left arm hanging limply, and glared at them suspiciously, scowling.Watching them warily, she walked over to the nearest building and slammed her left shoulder into the wall, a loud pop drifting back to the Ronins, who winced at the sound.She walked back towards them slowly, her jade-colored eyes shimmering in an inquisitive fashion as she tapped his armor lightly with the tips of her fingers.Ryo gasped.She topped Sage by almost four inches, and he was far from short.

"We're the Ronin warriors," Ryo said slowly in answer to her inquisitive expression, not bothering to elaborate as her eyes widened in recognition.She nodded slowly, chewing her bottom lip for a moment, deep in contemplation.After a moment of silent debate, she walked closer to Ryo, who shifted away slightly, still wary from their battle.As he edged away and she contently followed, Ryo couldn't help but sigh.As the five Ronins walked slowly back to Mia's house, a silent shadow trailed them.Due to the blows he received to his back and the many to his head, Rowen was having trouble walking as was Sage, though for a different reason.Every few minutes Sage glanced downwards, eyeing the dent in his subarmor, before turning to stare at the steel-toed boot that was responsible for it.Kento walked slowly, holding his ribs for the most part, occasionally unfolding his arms to wipe the blood streaming from a gash in his scalp out of his eyes.Cye staggered drunkenly down the street, the two massive blows he received to the head leaving him unsteady and slightly delirious.

Ryo watched the others with concern.He appeared to be the steadiest among the group, and he felt as though he would drop at any moment.For the first half-hour the group had walked, he had all but carried a near unconscious Cye, who still looked as though he needed help to stay upright.Ryo glanced back at his new shadow, still trailing five paces behind him, and sighed again.They had all tried to get the girl to speak to them, but she wouldn't utter a word, not a single syllable.She hadn't even acknowledged that they existed after nodding to herself when they had introduced themselves._Except by following us_, Ryo thought with a wry grin.

Cye tripped on his own feet, landing heavily on the pavement, completely unable to catch himself, almost appearing as though he hadn't even tried.Kento lunged wildly as Cye first stumbled, but was too sore to move quickly enough to counter his friend's fall.He moved to help the younger boy to his feet, crying out as Cye made no move to help pull himself up, then shifting quickly to carry him.Kento was promptly shoved out of the way as Ryo's living shadow moved forward to study the youngest Ronin.Kento opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short as she lifted Cye's unconscious form across her shoulders and took her place behind Ryo once again.Rowen and Sage shook their heads in resignation, motioning for a furious Kento to leave her alone.

Ryo only glanced at the girl for a moment before starting forward again.The others couldn't remain on their feet much longer and he doubted the girl could carry Cye like that for very long.In his subarmor, he was heavy.Ryo grimaced, closing his eyes.At the rate they were moving now it would take hours to get back to where they had left the car before entering the city.

Kento and Sage were suddenly thrown violently into the wall of a nearby building, cracks in the wall clearly visible.Ryo's head snapped up instantly, eyes locking on the forms of more than a dozen Dynasty soldiers.

"Armor of Wildfire!Dao Jin!"

Even as Ryo called his armor, his shadow darted past him, depositing Cye at his feet before physically tackling the nearest soldier.Ryo swore loudly.Rowen had already fallen, and neither Kento nor Sage made any move to get up.

Ryo spun his katanas wildly around him, too tired to fight properly.His graceless swings were barely keeping the soldiers at bay.One slid past his defenses, knocking him roughly off his feet to send him rolling across the pavement.A dark blur passed behind the soldier as he neared Ryo.He managed to turn aside the soldier's first swing, but didn't bother with the second as it fell well short of him, a spear broken across the soldier's head.The girl only glanced at Ryo before commandeering the soldier's weapon and charging into the thrall once more, treating the new spear much like a quarterstaff.Ryo barely had time to regain his feet before it was over.

The cloaked girl swiftly drug all of the fallen Ronins to the center of the street.Plucking Rowen's headband from his hair, she promptly tied his left wrist to Sage's right.Tossing Cye over her shoulders once more, she slipped Rowen's and Sage's tied arms across Cye and slowly struggled to her feet, glancing quickly at Ryo and Kento.Ryo positively gaped.He had been surprised when she had been able to carry just Cye, and now she was carrying Rowen and Sage as well, although her knees looked decidedly unsteady.Ryo quickly banished his armor and slipped Kento's arms over his shoulders, leaning forward as he stood to pull Kento well onto his back.He looked up, shocked to see that the girl hadn't waited on him, instead taking the lead in a slow lope that Ryo was almost unable to keep up with.

Ryo had no way of keeping track of time as they ran down the streets.At least two hours, he estimated.The girl had slowly increased her pace until he had to run frantically to keep up, nearly dropping Kento several times.After what seemed like an eternity, she slowed and stopped.Ryo stumbled to a halt beside her, dropping Kento on the ground in his haste to put him down, then collapsing beside him.He glanced at the girl and grinned ruefully as he noticed that she was breathing as hard as he was.She had deposited her load to the ground rather roughly, and was now glaring down at the three still forms.

After a moment she reached down to untie Rowen and Sage, shaking them both slightly.Pursing her lips thoughtfully when neither moved, she began to shake Rowen vigorously, who in turn issued a loud snore.With a vexed hiss, she placed one hand firmly over his mouth while the other pinched his nose shut.Ryo's lips twitched.He had tried to wake Rowen in the past and knew full well the impossibility of getting his friend up any sooner than two in the afternoon.He couldn't help but grin though.Despite everything he had tried in his past attempts, he had never thought of this.Ryo watched in amazement as Rowen tried to breathe through her hand for a moment before making an odd sound deep in his throat and lurching upright. As Rowen first began to move, she calmly released him and turned to Sage.

"What the hell…" Rowen trailed off as he peered around, obviously confused.Ryo only remained where he had collapsed, chuckling softly.

"She had to find some way to wake you up," Ryo said, grinning at his friend's frustrated expression."She got tired of carrying you.You'd think that you were as heavy as Kento considering how happy she was to put you down.With the way you sleep though, I'm surprised that you didn't just suffocate or try to gnaw her hand off."

Rowen made a face at him, about to reply, instead spinning to face the cloaked girl at her startled cry.She was clutching one hand in the other, blood running down her arm.With an effort, Ryo suppressed a snicker."Your sleeping habits are rubbing off on Sage, I think."Rowen calmly picked up a stone and chunked it at his friend, who finally gave in and laughed.

The girl flipped her raven-black hair out of her face and studied Sage carefully.Dropping down to position her face directly next to his, she softly breathed into his ear, running one finger down his cheek.Sage's mouth twisted into a contented smile, sending Ryo and Rowen into peals of laughter.

"Way to go, Sage!" Rowen called loudly, bringing a cringe from Sage, whose eyes fluttered open slowly, squinting in the light.Rolling his head to glance to his right, Sage uttered a sound that was nearly a shriek, scrambling away from the girl as quickly as he was able to get his bruised muscles to respond.Between fits of laughing, Ryo and Rowen tried to explain things to Sage, who slowly shook his head as he struggled to chuckle and speak at the same time.

"Twenty bucks says neither method works on Kento," Sage muttered.

"You're on," Ryo grinned.

Rowen looked at Ryo and Sage and shook his head._Ryo's going to lose_, he thought simply as he looked at the girl's face as she walked towards Kento.Holding Kento up by one arm, she delivered a full-armed slap to his face.As Kento spluttered, only half awake, she dropped him onto the pavement to turn to Cye.Rowen grinned at him ruefully, hoping the girl was gentler with Cye.Half awake thought he was, Kento took a wild swing at Sage as he tried to pull him to his feet, both of them ending up in a heap cursing loudly at one another.

Worried that she was about to employ the same tactics on Cye, Ryo struggled to his feet, moving to intercept the girl before she reached him.As he caught her arm, she slammed her elbow into his chest, knocking him to the ground, gasping.The four Ronins watched her warily, wondering if they would have to fight her again.Ryo groaned at the idea and knew that Rowen's wince came for the same reason.

Without even glancing at Ryo from where he lay sprawled on the ground, she knelt beside Cye, placing a hand gently on his forehead.She immediately reached up to her neck and unfastened her cloak.While the others watched, concerned, she wrapped the thick black cloth around Cye, lifting him gently into her arms.Kento came forward to take his best friend away from her, but stopped short as she glared at him.Grinding his teeth, he moved forward to place his hand on Cye's forehead, as she had done, and gasped, eyes widening in horror.At the others' confused stares, he slowly shook his head.

"He's ice cold," Kento whispered, half to himself.Rowen darted forward before the words were out of his mouth, gently checking Cye's temperature and pulse before running his hands carefully through Cye's hair.

"His skull is cracked," he said slowly, glancing at Sage.

Sage nodded, quickly moving forward to help the younger boy, only to pass out from the strain.The others looked at his still form in horror. Sage was too weak to use his abilities, and without him, Cye couldn't be healed.Kento and Rowen tried to awaken him for a few minutes before supporting him between the two of them.Ryo's eyes were tight with strain as he started the group moving once again.

***

Upon reaching the car, the girl refused to release her hold on Cye, simply slipping into the front seat of the vehicle after fumbling with the door handle for a few seconds, cradling him gently in her arms.The others watched her for a moment before piling into the car, Kento quickly stuffing Sage into the back seat before vaulting in after him.Rowen shoved Kento roughly to the side as he climbed in beside them.With one last glance at the girl, Ryo sighed and turned the car to head back to Mia's.

The drive back was a quiet one, the only sounds in the car being Sage's heavy breathing.Rowen frequently leaned over the seat to check Cye, only to be slapped hard by the girl after leaning over her one too many times.

Mia ran out to meet the guys as they pulled up, crying out as she saw Cye draped unconscious in the arms of a cloaked figure and Kento carrying Sage much like a sack of potatoes.

"What happened?" she asked, grasping Ryo firmly by the shoulder.

"We'll have to explain later.Right now, we need to do something about Cye.He's hurt pretty badly," Ryo said softly as the girl fell in behind him again.He grimaced at her before heading inside, leading the girl quickly to Cye's room, Mia following the entire way, trying futilely to pry answers out of the exhausted Ronin.As Cye was deposited gently on his bed, Rowen pushed past all of them to examine Cye again, Kento crowding behind him, entirely forgetting that he was still carrying Sage.As Rowen placed his hands on Cye's skull, he stirred, groaning groggily and trying to rise.Rowen gasped and quickly pushed him back to the bed, glancing at the others.

"I suppose I was mistaken," he said slowly, "he's not hurt as bad as I thought he was.At the worst he'll have a headache for a few days.If it was anything more serious than that, he wouldn't be moving so soon."Looking at Kento, he added, "You can put him down now, Kento.He needs to rest."

Kento glanced at Cye one last time before trotting out of the room to get rid of Sage before coming back in to examine his best friend for himself.Pushing everyone else out of the room roughly, he dropped to the floor beside his friend's bed, intent on watching him through the night.He fought his drooping eyelids valiantly for several hours, head snapping up when Cye began muttering in his sleep, his slurred speech almost unintelligible.Swallowing nervously, he leaned forward to hear more clearly.

"As an innocent falls to the darkness, a shadow waits in the midnight's sheltering arms, hidden and alone.Only the light shall evade destruction brought by the first shadow's coming, but will fall to the second.Golden fires rise to a plea coming from the night, and thus shall the Diamond be taken.Flames of sapphire will fade into the night, and the darkness will fall in the wake of their destruction."

Shaking his head numbly, he leaned back, knowing the futility of trying to understand his friend when he started ranting like that.

***

Kento awoke groggily to see a blanket draped across his shoulders and his friend missing.Lurching to his feet in panic, he bolted downstairs to alert the others, skidding to a stop as he saw Cye and Mia in the kitchen, calmly cooking breakfast.

Cye looked up at him and grinned cheerfully."I didn't think that you'd be up so soon, Kento.You were downright wasted.I tried to wake you up in the middle of the night so you could sleep more comfortably in your bed, but you wouldn't budge.Hey, do me a favor and wake the others.Breakfast is ready."

Grinning foolishly upon seeing that his friend really was all right, Kento spun to wake the others.He passed Sage in the hall, drearily heading to the bathroom to primp for the next hour if Kento had to guess.Shrugging, he turned to pound on Ryo's door.When no one answered immediately, he opened the door and glanced in, nearly choking as he saw Ryo dozing peacefully on the bed, the girl sprawled across him.

"No wonder you're sleeping in," Kento called loudly."You were up all night!"

Ryo's eyes opened slowly, he craned his head to look around, crying out in horror when he saw the girl lying halfway across him.Scrambling frantically, Ryo tried to move away from her, but froze as her heard a click and some muffled snickering.Looking up, he saw Kento grinning openly while Sage snapped another picture.Quickly untangling himself from the sheets and the girl, Ryo launched himself after the other two Ronins, but not before Sage bolted to hide his newly developed Polaroid that he had been flapping around merrily.

Ryo glared at the girl as he quickly dressed, stalking down to the kitchen only to find the others snickering fitfully.He grumbled to himself, turning to Kento.

"You forgot to get Rowen up."

"You think I'm crazy?I'm not goin' in there.Rowen'll kill me."

"I'm certainly not getting him up, I have to live with him remember?"

"Well, one of you needs to get him up.I can't right now, I'm busy cooking."

"I'm not going to do it.What if he kicked his clothes off again last night?I don't want to see that this early in the morning, and I don't think he wants me to either."

The girl walked into the room, silently watching the others argue as she claimed a seat at the table.Grabbing up one of the waffles piled on the table, she gnawed on it quietly while they debated who was going to go through the battle of getting Rowen up this morning.

Rising slowly, she left the room, heading back upstairs.The Ronins and Mia watched her go, turning to each other when she was out of sight.

"Maybe she'll get him up," Ryo said hopefully, not wanting to experience Rowen's wrath if he had to awaken him.The others had similarly hopeful expressions on their faces that would have been quite comical if they weren't there for such a good reason.Anyone who woke Rowen had to face his fiery, and often vengeful, temper.

As they heard the bathroom door open and running water, Mia sighed."I guess that was too much to hope for.She probably has too much sense to go in there."She paused, looking at the guys."Cye told me as much as he knew about her.Did you guys find out anything else while he was unconscious?"

Ryo shook his head."Not a thing.She won't speak at all.But don't change the subject.We still need to find someone to wake Rowen."

Cye and Mia immediately seemed very preoccupied with cooking breakfast.Kento started shoveling food into his mouth, hoping that would deter him from being chosen.Ryo and Sage began a contest of wills, staring at each other intently with jaws set in firmly stubborn lines.

The decision was taken from them, however, as they heard a loud pop and a startled shriek from upstairs.Thinking that the girl had found the true depths of Rowen's temper by trying to awaken him, Ryo hopped to his feet and sprinted upstairs.He was nearly trampled in the hall, though, as a completely naked Rowen darted by him in a dead run.Staring after his friend in shock, he was nearly run over again as the young girl shot by him after Rowen, neatly cracking him in the backside with a wet towel, earning another squall from the blue-haired youth.Pausing only for a moment, Ryo chased the both of them down the stairs, laughing wildly.

Swinging into the kitchen, Rowen squawked indignantly as he spotted Mia, spinning to dart out again only to be popped once more.The Ronins in the kitchen only had time to gape in astonishment before Rowen was gone again to the sound of more cracks from a wet towel.Immediately getting to their feet, the guys followed the two combatants into the living room, Sage happily clicking pictures of Rowen as he tried futilely to avoid the towel snapped at him with unerring accuracy.

Already covered in a mass of welts, Rowen spun in a blind fury, trying to pull the towel out of the girl's grasp.As they both pulled frantically at the towel, the girl shrugged, suddenly releasing her hold to send Rowen sprawling backwards before darting wisely out of the room.

***

The next morning, no one bothered to fight over who had the privilege to fight Rowen out of bed.Ryo simply asked the girl where she lay sleeping on the couch in the living room.Blinking at him drearily, she rolled to her feet, trudging up to Rowen's room.The others followed, Sage with a camera, to see what horror she would inflict upon their friend to pry him out of bed this time.

Sitting beside him on the bed, she ran one finger across his cheek slowly.When Rowen failed to react in the slightest, she placed one hand on either side of his head, lowering her face closer to his.Sage grinned, getting the camera ready as he expected his friend to receive a kiss from the strange girl.He nearly choked laughing as she did something completely different from what he had anticipated, licking Rowen's face sloppily from chin to forehead.Rowen launched himself out of the bed, executing a mad little dance around the room, spitting and hacking in a fury.The girl grinned at her handiwork, spinning to return downstairs.

***

Sitting at breakfast stiffly, Rowen glared at the girl sitting opposite him at the table.Every morning for the last week she had been the one to wake him up with methods that were less than pleasant at best.Today he had simply been dropped out of the window from the second floor.Yesterday she had filled his nose with whipped cream. The day before that, she had calmly reached under the sheets, with his friends watching of course, and grabbed his other friend.The guys were _still_ teasing him about that one.

As if sensing his sudden scowl, the girl looked innocently across the table at him.She stiffened suddenly, head snapping back, a low growl emanating from deep in her throat.All conversation at the table ceased as the guys looked at her trembling form.

"What is it?" Ryo asked slowly, not expecting an answer.She had been staying with them for over a week and still would not speak.They had all but given up attempting to force her to talk, all attempts merely earning them disgusted scowls.Jumping to her feet, she bolted outside.A startled squawk originating from outside got all of the guys on their feet immediately, bolting outside into a scene of total chaos.

Despite the time in the day, the sky was dark, the area surrounding the house unnatural shadows.The young girl was grappling with Cale on the ground in a tangled mass of arms, legs, and armor.Sehkmet slashed at her with a venom-laced sword.Back arching, she twisted awkwardly to avoid the blow, losing her hold on Cale in the process.The Ronins immediately donned their subarmor, charging into the fray.Sage and Kento were thrown to the ground as Dais launches his own attack from behind, Kento feebly rolling to his feet as Dais seized Sage and vanished.

Rowen howled in fury as his friend disappeared, calling his armor.Kento opened his mouth to call his armor as well, dropping again as Cale threw the girl viciously into him as he rose.Kento roared with a sudden viciousness that matched Rowen's as Sehkmet tackled Cye, carrying them both to the ground an instant before vanishing with his captured victim.Launching herself in a futile attack, the girl tackled Cale again.Ryo and Kento used the small break in the fighting to call their armors.Sehkmet and Dais reappeared, smirking at the three standing Ronins.

"Recruiting girls to help you fight?" Cale taunted, approaching Ryo.Ryo growled, leveling his katanas, the girl falling in behind him again much to his frustration.

Rowen and Kento rounded off with Dais and Sehkmet, who sneered in disgust at the _boys_ who had the tenacity to face them.

Mia screamed as a blinding flash of light burned her eyes.Squinting wildly at the battleground, she cried out again, staring in absolute horror.The yard was empty.The girl and every one of the Ronins were gone.

***

Ryo pushed himself groggily to his feet, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to clear them.He had been fighting, hadn't he?He shook his head, trying to clear a mind that refused to awaken, looking dully at the blur that was his armor.Slowly his eyes cleared and he gasped in recognition.He was in the middle of one of his favorite hiking trails, nearly five miles from where he had been fighting the Warlords.He looked around frantically, trying to find some sign of the others.Seeing a small crumpled heap not ten paces from where he stood, Ryo blinked in confusion.The girl?Why was she here and where were the others?

Ryo moved to help her up, pulling her limp form across his shoulders before turning to head back to Mia's.Trotting drunkenly down the trail, he silently mulled over the flash of light that had exploded in the battlefield, leaving him alone so far from where he had been.Glancing skeptically at the girl, he idly wondered if this was her doing, but dismissed the thought as soon as it entered his mind.He wanted to call out for the others but inwardly knew the futility of it and remained silent.He tried without success to convince himself that the others had been scattered about like he had been, that he would find them waiting at Mia's.Tears burned in his eyes as he accepted the truth.The others were gone.He couldn't sense their presence in the slightest.He was in the middle of the woods, injured and carrying an unconscious girl.Alone.

Sometime later, Ryo passed out on the edge of Mia's lawn, the last thing his mind saw before shutting down was Mia, running towards him as he collapsed.

***

Sage groaned, struggling briefly to regain his feet.His eyes snapped open fully at the sound of screamed vulgarities.Kento, he thought dully.Trying to locate Kento in the absolute blackness surrounding him, he tried again to rise, lurching strangely to one side before coming to the conclusion that he was bound, wrists to ankles.He slowly applied pressure to the bonds, testing their strength.They didn't budge in the slightest.Growling softly, he increased the pressure on the bonds until the muscles throughout his body began to tremble from the strain.He lay limply on the ground, panting softly, irritated by the darkness, his inability to rise.

"Kento," he called out softly, not surprised when he didn't get a response.Listening to the curses drifting softly through the air, he realized that Kento must be a good distance from him, judging by the echoes.He must have been absolutely shrieking earlier for Sage to have heard him so clearly.Sage winced, wondering what had been done to his friend to make him cry out like that, in such desperation.Sighing softly, he began twisting his wrists as he worked slowly on freeing himself from his bonds.

***

Kento bucked wildly against the chains tying him hand and foot, spitting curses at the top of his lungs.He had awoken too early for his captors' liking.Unfortunately he had already been tied, left to watch helplessly as his friends were drug roughly away.Unbidden, the memories of Cye's limp form returned to him.

_Kento lurched against his bonds, blood flecked spittle flying from his lips as he saw Sehkmet tying Cye.His sudden curses startled Sehkmet from his work._

_ _

_"What's wrong, Hardrock?" he asked, delivering a kick to Cye's ribs, grinning as Kento's curses and vulgarities increased in volume and pitch._

_ _

_The world spun wildly as Sehkmet slammed his heel into Kento's temple._

_ _

_Kento refused to pass out.He could only watch in tears as Sage and Rowen were removed from the room.Cale and Sehkmet remained, amused by Kento's shouts as they held a blade to Cye's throat._

_ _

_"Shall we kill him," Cale asked in all seriousness, "or shall we bring him over to fight for us?The choice is yours, Hardrock."_

Tears streamed freely down Kento's face as he remembered his decision.All of them would suffer the consequences of his choice.

***

Rowen had vaguely heard Cale's taunts drifting down the halls followed by Kento's vulgarities.He was aware of being drug down the halls roughly by a chain tied to the bonds holding his wrists.Sage was no longer being hauled beside him, having been deposited in a well-guarded chamber nearly half an hour ago.Where the hell were they taking him?Surely they didn't think that the four of them had to be separated by this great a distance.

He craned his head to look stiffly over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Dais's white hair.Dais noticed his look and grinned maliciously.

"How would you like to hear your friend's decision?" he asked, lips peeling away from his teeth in something that might have been interpreted as a grin."Hardrock decided that you are all to serve the Dynasty, boy, starting with your friend Torrent."

Rowen froze, his throat constricting.Kento said WHAT?!?He was going to kill him when he got out of this.

Dais grinned wider upon seeing Rowen's face twist into a disgusted snarl.Chuckling softly, he lifted Rowen by the chest plate of his subarmor, so that he was on eye level with him."Anxious for your friend, Strata?" he taunted."You can join him if you like.Two can be affected by the Nether spirits as easily as one."He laughed again as Rowen bucked in his grip frantically, complying with his wish to be released by dropping him to the ground.

Rowen tossed his head, twisting viciously in his bonds, frantic to be loose._Ryo, oh God, Ryo.I didn't see him with the others.Ryo, for the love of God, get us out of here._

***

Cye regained consciousness slowly.A strange feeling washed over him.He almost felt like he was floating.Abruptly, he realized that he was underwater.His eyes snapped open as he realized it was either swim or drown.Not exactly sure which way was up, Cye let out a mouthful of the precious little air he had left, spinning nimbly in the water to begin moving towards the surface with sure, graceful movements.With his first stroke he realized that he was not in water.It didn't move quite right and it was beginning to burn his eyes.He was about to shut his eyes again when he saw a blur sink slowly by him just to his left.His eyes burned so badly he could barely make out its shape, but his mind didn't miss the distinctive mass of blue hair.Rowen.

Cye snagged Rowen by clutching a fistful of his unconscious friend's hair.With a desperation he hadn't known before, Cye began to struggle towards the surface.

Bursting to the surface, Cye gulped down a much-needed breath of air, careful to keep Rowen's head above the water.His eyes burned painfully, everything around him beginning to blur.He blinked uncertainly, frowning when he found that he couldn't even make out his friend's face in the dim light that pulsed softly, seeming to originate from nowhere and everywhere at the same time.All he could see of Rowen was a mass of blurred colors.The blue of this hair, he expected, but the near purple face streaked with red made Cye catch his breath.Listening to his friend's rasping breath until he was convinced that Rowen hadn't taken in a lung-full of water, or whatever they were in, Cye tried to gauge how badly his friend was injured.Knowing he couldn't support them both forever even with the help of his subarmor, Cye began to swim around slowly in the increasing darkness, looking for a shallower area, somewhere where he could touch the bottom.

***

Ryo's eyes fluttered open weakly.The minimal light in the dim room was too much for his pounding head, resulting in a feeble groan.A cool hand was placed on his forehead immediately.Ryo ignored the stinging lights and forced his eyes open, struggling briefly to sit up.Gentle hands pushed his shoulders back down.

"Don't try to get up yet, Ryo," Mia said softly, appalled at how easily she was able to hold the youth down.

Ryo ignored her, trying to rise again, angry that he could not get up, that he could not help his friends.How would he be able to help them if he couldn't even sit up?When he began to struggle again, a second pair of hands pinned him while Mia moved back, muttering to herself with her hands on her hips, one foot tapping impatiently.Glaring at the slender girl holding him down in Mia's place, Ryo attempted to knock her hands away and roll off of the bed onto his feet.Sensing his intentions, the girl calmly plopped down on his chest, effectively pinning him beyond any movement.Growling in frustration, Ryo could only relax helplessly.

Mia nodded in satisfaction."Now that you've agreed to stay put," she said dryly, "you can help us plan.I could use some help here.The girl isn't exactly easy to understand, you realize.She's been trying to communicate with hand gestures, but sometimes it takes me awhile to figure out what she's trying to tell me."When Ryo looked up at her expectantly, she continued."So far, I've figured out that she wants you to go with her into the Dynasty to get the others.She's been trying to explain the details to me, but I haven't been able to understand any of them.Some of her gestures are a bit strange at the very least."

Ryo nodded slowly."Can I at least sit up to do this?"At Mia's scandalized expression, he added hastily, "I won't try to stand.I just want to sit up so I can eat without choking."

Mia's expression was frankly disbelieving.She knew his tricks far too well by now.She wished that White Blaze were here to help her out with his unruly owner, sighing softly as she looked at the thick rug where he used to sleep.In a battle about two months ago, he had simply disappeared while trying to protect Yuley.Her eyes misted at the thought of the little boy, the memory of the too-small coffin.No one should have to die that young, not like that.

Snapping her thoughts back to the Ronins to keep from having a complete emotional breakdown, she glanced at the utter confusion of Ryo's face.She understood that look immediately.The girl was trying to explain her plans while he simply had no idea what she was doing.The girl let out an irritated breath, settling on a single set of gestures that Ryo obviously understood well.She pointed to herself, to Ryo, and then to the door.

Mia sighed."He needs to rest," she began, eyes widening as the girl hopped off Ryo's bed and pulled him to his feet when he nodded.Ryo's knees buckled for an instant before he locked them, refusing to get much-needed rest when his friends needed him.Grabbing his armor orb, he donned his subarmor as he followed the girl out of the room.Mia rose furiously, following the two of them out of the room and into the kitchen.Dumping out Mia's cloth backpack, the girl began to pack any food she saw into it, blatantly ignoring Mia's protests.She paused every now and then to push some food on Ryo with a look that told him he had better eat it if he didn't want it shoved down his throat.

Ryo glanced at the clock on the microwave, frowning slightly.It was midmorning.Looking to Mia, he slowly asked a question that she had been hoping he wouldn't.He would be frantic when he learned the answer."What is today?"

Mia's throat tightened."Tuesday," she whispered, wincing as Ryo nearly choked on what he had been eating.He had returned to pass out of her lawn around mid-afternoon on Saturday and hadn't woken up for nearly three days.When the girl tapped him on the shoulder and turned to go, Ryo nearly trampled her in his haste to get to the others.Mia's eyes misted and then filmed as she watched them walk outside, the girl eyeing the surrounding area carefully.She cried silently as they got into the car, Ryo speeding off to find a gate to the Dynasty somewhere within the abandoned city.Mia fell to her knees, crying aloud for Ryo.What chance did he have?What chance did any of them have?Ryo was entering the Dynasty exhausted and injured with only an unarmed girl posing as his only chance to escape alive.Her lungs burned with sobs as she watched Ryo go to what she was certain would be his death.

***

Ryo leapt out of the car, ramming the Dynasty gate with his shoulder.He strained until his muscles screamed at the misuse, stopping his exertions as he was pushed to the ground.He glared at the girl, face twisting into a scowl as she approached the door, closing her right hand into a fist.At the first crack of her fist, the door shivered, a small crack appearing where the girl's hand had come into contact.A swift series of kicks resulted in a fair sized hole in the door.Ryo's jaw dropped in shock.She hopped through, motioning sharply for Ryo to follow.He followed slowly, gasping when the door vanished behind him.The girl was already trotting swiftly across the barren lands, unerringly towards the horizon, which seemed to have a faint outline of a dark castle.

***

Ryo collapsed.He had been exhausted when they started, and they had been running for several hours on end.The girl circled back, quickly tossing him across her shoulders before breaking into a run once more.Even having seen her do this before, Ryo couldn't believe she had enough strength to carry him like this without tiring.He had come to recognize her heavy breathing for what is was, simply a need for oxygen, not an out-of-shape pant that anyone else would be exhibiting.After another three hours of carrying him, she paused for a break, rummaging through the backpack she had been carrying, her breathing already back to normal.Even after being carried for three hours, Ryo was weary, his legs rubbery.He groaned when she started moving again after a scant ten-minute break.The only thing that kept Ryo on his feet and moving was the knowledge that his friends needed him.

It took Ryo and the girl a full day of running to reach the castle, the scant three breaks the girl had allowed not enough for Ryo's weary body.She had ended up carrying him for the last nine hours while he dozed uneasily across her shoulders.He had felt horrible at first, but gradually relaxed when he realized that she didn't mind and it wasn't wearing her out significantly.

Soldiers appeared on occasion, but never heard their silent approach or departure, the girl being unnervingly quiet on her feet.

Reaching the edge of the castle, she dropped Ryo to the ground, leaping up to grasp the side of the wall nearly four stories above the ground.Scaling the wall for another few feet, she vanished into a small, nearly invisible hole in the wall.A slender hand snaked out, motioning for him to follow.Ryo leaped up, grasping the proffered hand and swinging himself into what appeared to be an open air vent.The girl had already turned to move down the airshaft.He sighed forlornly, crawling stiffly after the lithe form disappearing into the darkness.

After a few minutes, she turned sharply down a side tunnel so narrow that Ryo could barely fit.After less than a minute of crawling, she vanished completely.Ryo gasped.Where the hell was she?A hand appeared out of nowhere, snagging his wrist and pulling him into a hole leading straight down.Falling for what seemed like forever, Ryo's descent was suddenly ended as the girl latched onto another tunnel, both of them slamming into the side of the vent.Ryo was roughly pulled into the tunnel after the black-cloaked figure, leading him to a small open area within the tunnel.This area had caved in from above, creating a huge cavern but blocking the path leading forward.A slender hand placed itself on his chest, silently indicating that he was to stay there.Too weary to object, Ryo slumped against the wall in the utter darkness, wondering idly what she was doing.His breath caught in his throat as the girl turned to face him, depositing the bag of food and her heavy boots in his lap.Even in this absolute blackness he could clearly make out her eyes, glowing a soft red.She spun and vanished into the tunnels once more.

Ryo panted miserably in the darkness.He was tired and still in bad shape from the battle with the Warlords a few days ago, some of them having managed to have gotten in a few good shots, not to mention alone and lost in the middle of the Dynasty, effectively blind in the unnatural gloom surrounding him.To top it all off, the girl, whom Ryo now seriously doubted was human, actually seemed to know her way around this maze, which was more than slightly disconcerting.

TBC…

Upon request, I'm posting this again.This will take awhile to repost since both my computer and ff.net are giving me grief, but I'm trying.


	2. Part 2

Midnight Shadows

Part 2

# By Mieren

Kento shifted uneasily in the darkness, groaning softly as the muscles through his shoulders and back screamed in protest.It was bad enough that he had been tied hand and foot, curled backwards in a painfully awkward position, but to have been hung from the ceiling by the bonds holding his wrists to his feet was downright excruciating.The weight of his subarmor increased the pull on his weary muscles, almost making him wish that he wasn't wearing it.

He stiffened suddenly, ignoring his body's quivering protests, as the chain holding him roughly five feet off of the ground rattled softly.He craned his neck futilely around to see who or what had come in to torment him this time.For the past three days someone had come in every few hours at the very least to thrash him into oblivion.Growling softly, he wished fervently that he had the strength to resist, eyes misting in hopelessness as he waited for the blows to begin.Much to his surprise, he was dropped roughly to the ground.This was new.His heart clenched in horror at what that might mean, his mind turning to the decision the Warlords had forced him to make.

The chains and shackles still binding Kento were slowly pried off, releasing trembling muscles from an impossible position.As he was hauled to his feet, Kento lashed out in a blind fury and was rewarded with a deft backhanded blow across his jaw.Staggering blindly in the perpetual blackness around him, he could only blink in confusion as a shoulder was placed lightly against his abdomen, heavily muscled arms encircling his upper thighs.He uttered an undignified cry as he was abruptly lifted to hang limply across a well-defined shoulder.Within two paces his captor reached the wall and promptly proceeded to release the hold on his legs, leaving him balanced rather precariously as they began a swift, if unsteady, ascent.

Not relishing the idea of falling to the floor below in his condition, Kento held on tenaciously to the lithe form beneath him.After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, his captor jerked him roughly from his ever-shifting perch.Kento grabbed desperately at anything loose on his captor, frantic to find some sort of hold that would prevent him from being dropped to the ground far below.A second crack across his face stopping any such nonsense, Kento was dangled in midair by one ankle for a moment before promptly being yanked into a hole in the wall.

Panting furiously, he attempted another swing at whoever was holding his ankle.A firm hand caught his wrist, pulling him steadily along.Spitting out a curse resulted with a hand held across his mouth for a moment, only to be jerked away with an outraged gasp as Kento sunk his teeth into the tender flesh of the hand holding him.Another slap followed, this one hard enough to send a flash of light dancing across his vision.Blinking uncertainly at whatever held his wrist, he gasped in horror and tired to back away as he spotted unmistakably glowing eyes.Bucking only earned him a fist slammed into his jaw.Spirit utterly crushed, Kento followed along brokenly.

After what seemed like an eternity in the tunnels, the two reached an opening in the passages below them.Shifting slightly, the dark figure in front of Kento swung him out into an opening, an abyss that nearly made Kento wet himself until he realized that he wasn't going to be dropped by whoever held his wrist.Sliding rapidly down the wall, he was abruptly flung into another opening to a tunnel, this one leading to a small cavern, Kento thought by the echoes.Something shifted in the inky blackness beyond him, and he couldn't stop himself from crying out softly.

"Is that you?" a familiar voice whispered tremulously from just beyond Kento's reach.Head snapping up, Kento jerked his wrist away from his abductor, staggering purposely forward.

"Ryo?" he asked softly, voice quavering uncertainly.

"Oh, God, Kento!It's you!" Ryo called out quietly, but unmistakably wearily.A hand clasped firmly onto Kento's shoulder for an instant before pulling him into a rough embrace."Hungry?"

The very idea caused Kento to return the embrace fiercely before asking, "Food?" in an unsteady murmur.Ryo handed him a loaf of somewhat stale bread.Not complaining, Kento began bolting the food as quickly as he could get it down his throat, asking around a large mouthful, "Was that the girl?"

"Yea…"The answer was so slow in coming that Kento had almost asked again, thinking that Ryo hadn't heard him. He paused for an instant in stuffing his face, appalled by the uncertainty and fear that he heard in his friend's voice.As he turned to look for the glowing eyes, Ryo spoke up, sensing his movement."She already left.She was gone almost before you freed yourself from her grip."

***

Sage blinked in absolute bafflement as he was slowly lowered to the ground.Too stiff and weary to struggle, he waited limply as the shackles holding him were torn away.This had never happened before.He knew that another beating was coming, but had long since ceased to care.Bucking wildly like he had the first few times had only added exhaustion and stiffness to the injuries inflicted upon him.

When he was lifted carefully to his feet, his head snapped up in utter confusion as he tried to get a look at this session's tormentor.Seeing the blood-red eyes glowing brightly back at him, he made a pathetic attempt to jump away, swinging one foot out in a feeble attack so poorly performed that the others would have stalked away in disgust had they seen it.Unsurprisingly, his kick was blocked and he was seized again.One of his wrists was snagged, pulling his hand up towards the molten gaze.He tried to pull his hand away to no avail, freezing in shock as his armored fingers encountered a mass of silken hair.Gripping a lock of the hair gently, he stepped forward and ran the strands across his cheek slowly.This could not possibly be who he thought it was.

Sage was cut off from further contemplating the situation as he was lifted skillfully to rest across a set of surprisingly broad shoulders.He tried to relax as the girl below him began to scale the wall, every movement bringing soft crunching noises.After being stuffed somewhat gently into a hole in the wall, Sage did not resist when his wrist was seized and he was pulled silently through tunnels that he though might be a ventilation system.After some time of crawling and one terrifying drop, he was greeted by the voices of Ryo and Kento, a grin breaking out on his face for the first time in over four days.

***

Cye shifted slightly on his feet.It had taken him the better part of a day to find a place in this infernal pool where he could touch the ground.The areas had grown dimmer and dimmer until all light had finally vanished, leaving him in perpetual darkness.After a little while, he had found what appeared to be a wall.After following it for a while, he decided that it was indeed a wall, enclosing him well in the tainted pool.Whatever he was in was most certainly not water, he decided for at least the hundredth time that day.

At first, a slow throbbing in his head kept him from drifting off.Little by little, the pain enshrouding him increased until he had begun shrieking in agony, muscles quivering as he held on to Rowen tightly, refusing to let his friend drown.After a few hours of this, his throat had grown so raw that he had begun spitting up blood.Now he merely twitched on occasion when there was a particularly bad jolt of pain, tears spilling unending down his face.

Rowen had thrashed in his sleep, crying out loudly in time with Cye's screams.Cye had slowly come to the realization that something was tearing at his mind and very soul on his second day in this nightmare.He had done his best to fight it, but grew more worried by the minute as Rowen writhed and growled in his arms.

Not more than an hour ago, Rowen had abruptly jerked awake, pushing himself testily away from Cye.Neither of them spoke to the other, Cye sensing that Rowen would rather rip out his tongue than speak to him.Not understanding this feeling that was radiating from his friend, he had simply held his thoughts in check, hoping that Rowen would snap out of it and say something to him.Anything.

A malicious chuckle drew him from his thoughts."Are you ready to give up yet, Ronin whelps?" Dais's acrid voice sneered.Cye drew himself stubbornly up to snap out a reply, cutting off short as the Warlord spat out a startled vulgarity.A loud splash a few feet from him immediately followed.Rowen's grunt made Cye launch himself forward, catching his friend as he was knocked out again by the weight of a falling Warlord.Dais's voice started to rise sharply, but was immediately cut off by a sound that Cye knew all too well, a fist slamming into a jaw.

Cye only had time to curse as Rowen was torn from his grasp, spitting out another vulgarity as he was tucked under someone's arm.Rowen was immediately placed beneath him, the well-muscled arm straining to hold the both of them in such an awkward grip.A few short strokes led them to the wall, and they began to ascend, Cye realized as he was pulled clear of what felt like too-thick water.After being stuffed headfirst into a hole, he and Rowen were promptly abandoned as their abductor shot down the passage ahead.Cye was about to start moving in the direction he had heard their captor take when whoever or whatever it was shot by him again, diving into the pool below.

***

Dais had just surfaced, spitting out a mouthful of that foul liquid from the pool when a barreling projectile slammed into his chest, sending him under again.He felt something, much to his horror, being wrapped around his wrists, tying his arms effectively behind his back.His attacker stood on his shoulders for a second, launching itself into the air.He blinked as something rained down on his head.Dust?

Looking upwards, he gasped as he saw a slender black-clad girl gripping the ceiling with one hand and a chain connected to him with the other.He could only watch in a blend of horror and astonishment as he was lifted up to the ceiling far above by a girl using only one of her arms.He blinked in recognition.That was the girl that had been fighting alongside the Ronins.Cursing in disbelief, he watched as she shifted to grip the ceiling with her feet so she was free to use both of her hands to attach the chain holding him to a thick stalactite.

Quickly popping off Dais's helmet, the girl rolled a piece of chain in a thick cloth, prying his mouth open forcefully to insert her gag.Tying the ends of cloth behind his head, she reached to her side, pulling up a strip of cloth with three things hanging from the end, squirming frantically.Snakes.Dais tried to cry out past the gag, bucking wildly.He _hated_ snakes.Grinning, the girl pulled the cloth away from the snakes' necks, and tore a small gash on the end of each of the reptiles' tails, making them trash almost as wildly as the bound Warlord.Dais swore silently that when he got out of this, he was going to kill each and every snake in the Dynasty, screw what Sehkmet thought.The girl smirked at him, forcing one of her hands down the front of his armor, quickly following by stuffing all of the creatures, slimy from their brief exposure to the pools below, into his subarmor.Dais bucked ferociously, his one eye promising a variety of excruciating horrors to the girl whenever he got out of this.She merely snapped his helmet back into place to ensure that none of the snakes got out of his armor while he hung there, powerless to do anything except scream from behind his gag.

***

Cye squinted into the blackness above the pools, bewildered by the muffled cries that echoed softly through the air.Someone or something slid by him, picking up Rowen in passing.Lurching forward, Cye managed to catch his friend's ankle.A hand clasped his wrist gently, pulling him forward, urging him to follow into the passage.He growled, preparing to fight with what little strength he had left, only to have his hand seized roughly and placed in a matted mess of long hair.

Mind reeling in recognition, he followed dully, holding onto one of Rowen's ankles as he was pulled slowly through the unending gloom.After a little while, a hand was placed on his chest, pushing him gently to the wall.He reached out, only to find himself utterly alone.He cried out softly, curling into a ball.On the verge of breaking into tears, a gentle hand prodded him carefully in the shoulder, gently leading him onward.Cye was only too happy to comply until he reached the end of the ground below him, the girl hanging over a ledge just in front of his fingertips.As he moved to pull her up, she instead pulled him over, a cry of stark terror escaping his lips.

A moment later, he was shoved into a wide passageway.An utterly disbelieving and blissful smile broke out on his face as he heard his friends' voices calling his name in relief.

***

Kayura watched silently as Dais was bound, gagged, and hung from a stalactite, shaking her head in disbelief.She knew that the Warlords were idiots, and had been frankly amazed that they had captured four of the Ronins, but this was ridiculous.How could he be beaten be an unarmed girl?She was about to move out of the shadows to prevent the slender black-clad form from slipping off with the two boys but froze in shock in sudden recognition.

Memories drifted back to Kayura.Battles so violent that an entire dimension was nearly wrenched from existence._That girl_, she thought silently, tears welling in her eyes in horror, _I thought we destroyed all of her kind_.She moved further away from the opening that the girl had disappeared into, trembling violently.Vanishing from the area, leaving Dais alone in the immense cavern, she went to her room to collapse bonelessly on the floor, tears finally spilling from here eyes.

_Power danced wildly across the battlefields and skies, the air crackling even to those long since deafened by the roar of the chaos raging across the planet.The air was no longer breathable.The very earth below them was long since molten.Kayura made a near fatal mistake, pausing to look at the carnage below her.Several dozen blasts of pure energy shot towards her horrified eyes.She dodged wildly, clutching a scorched arm to her chest.Something dropped onto her from above, thick talons sinking into her shoulders, leathery wings ensnaring her arms.Merciless jaws sank into the back of her neck, oblivious to her screams.A fiery whirlwind slammed into her from below, spinning the fiery blades in burning hands to leave them planted in her chest and throat._

As her vision faded, the image of the floating man engulfed in flames still burned into her eyes, Kayura teleported away from the battle, away from the man with a soul of fire.Slumping to the floor in her room, she fumbled for a healing potion as her lifeblood ran freely across the floor.

Kayura cried out at the unbidden memory, clutching her scarred neck in trembling hands, tears running unchecked down her face.

Returning to the battle in a blind fury, Kayura promptly decapitated the wretched winged beast that had attacked her only moments ago.She spun to the side, narrowly avoiding a blast of molten light that left an after-image burned into her vision.Blocking a second blast with her Starlight Swords, she pivoted sharply to again face the slender man engulfed in flames.The short twin daggers of fire blazed, elongating into one-edged, slightly curved swords with a small dragon etched in black flames on each blade.The two circled each other, leaping about wildly, blades flaring in blinding flashes as they connected with each other.

_ _

_Both already sported numerous cuts, darting to gain an advantage in position, forms blurring from their impossible speeds as they each struggled to avoid the hissing blades of the other.Kayura got in a lucky hit, cleaving a trench in her opponent's skull from nose to pointed ear.As he staggered back, she finished what she had begun, turning calmly to face another who had walked up to oppose her._

_ _

_Tossing aside a cloak colored to make the depths of Dynasty look to be bathed in daylight, a slender girl raised her arms to fight, completely unarmed.Kayura smirked at the black-clad girl who stood before her, unbound onyx hair whipping about her wildly in the crackling winds.The eyes that looked back to her own shimmered in the pale face before returning to the color of new leaves in shadow._

Kayura shifted on her feet swiftly, swinging into the girl's range to bury both of her swords into the chest of the too-thin girl.At the last instant, her arms snapped down, slamming Kayura's swords off of course, both slender blades sinking into the flesh of a well-muscled leg.Bony hands shot up to the swords, wrenching them from Kayura's grasp.The girl tore the blades from her flesh, staggering slightly, only to repeat Kayura's moves, the thin blades sliding home in her chest before her disbelieving eyes.Turning away slowly, pausing only to pick up her cloak, the girl simply walked away, leaving her sprawled motionlessly on the ground.

***

Although Kento had been the first to have access to the food supply, plenty remained, thanks to Ryo.Cye listened to his friends' voices, every now and then laying a hand on a still unconscious Rowen to check on his friend.Rowen's breathing was steadily improving, the rasp that had worried all of them almost gone.After a few minutes of waiting, the rasp had vanished entirely.When Cye reached out to check him again, he bolted upright at the touch, crying out softly.

"Hey Rowen," Ryo called softly, "glad to see you're finally up.None of us really wanted to wake you.We like our limbs where they are, after all."

The guys chuckled softly as Rowen scowled, interpreting his look as annoyance at being teased this soon after being woken.With a wordless growl, he launched himself into Ryo, intent on strangling him with his bare hands, having nothing better to fight with.Sage and Kento stared in shock for the instant that it took a black clad figure to separate the two combatants.

"Jeez Rowen, it was just a joke," Ryo croaked hoarsely.

Rowen was not listening.Separated from his initial target, he immediately settled on taking out the girl standing in his way, slamming his fist into her stomach.A soft grunt escaped her lips as she stared at him in mystification.She was snapped out of her shock as his fist cracked across her face, scowling back at her attacker.As she reached out to slap him into oblivion, he spun on the ball of his right foot, slamming his left heel into her temple, grinning maliciously as she crumpled.Kento and Sage were similarly baffled, but not waiting for any further explanation, proceeded to tackle Rowen and hold him to the ground.After a moment, Ryo moved to help hold him down.

"Get off of me, damn you!" Rowen spit at them, thrashing in their hold."Cye, get your ass over here and get these bastards off me!"

Cye's head snapped up and he blinked uncertainly, squinting in his general direction.Without thinking he stood to move towards his friend, freezing as he stumbled over the limp form of the girl.He reached down, running his hands through thick hair spilling across the ground."What the hell…" he murmured.His head snapped up again, eyes narrowing dangerously."Where are you?" he called softly, looking vaguely in Rowen's direction.

Ryo tossed a disbelieving look at Cye.They had lit a torch that the girl had pilfered from somewhere in the castle.The small area was well lit by the single flame."Can't you see us?" he asked slowly, almost afraid of the answer.

"Of course I can't.If you would have bothered to have brought a light, then maybe.I can't exactly see in the dark you know."

The three Ronins pinning Rowen stared at their friend in shock, noticing for the first time that his eyes held a slightly glazed look.Rowen bucked in their grip."I'm over here.Get these idiots off of me!"

Cye immediately started forward again, pausing once more when he heard the soft sound of subarmors hitting each other."Guys, why're you…" he began slowly, not sure how to continue.At Rowen's growl, he took another step forward, ready to push the others off of him, freezing again as he realized what he was about to do."Oh, God…"

"Cye!" the commanding voice snapped."Whose side are you on?"

Cye couldn't see anything, but he felt his friends' shock radiating back to him.Shaking his head slowly, he leaned down and fumbled slowly for his friend's head.A gentle hand guided his.He didn't pause to wonder why someone else could see when he couldn't, merely placing one hand on either side of Rowen's head.The jumble of chaos that radiated from his friend's mind nearly caused him to cry out in agony, tears building behind his closed eyes."Oh, God, Rowen…" he whispered softly, choking on his next words."You weren't awake to fight back."

Ryo immediately grabbed the younger Ronin by the shoulders, shaking him gently."What do you mean 'fight back'?" he asked, voice barely audible.

"Something was pulling at me the entire time we've been here.It hurt…" he trailed off, whimpering.

Kento had been studying the floor intently for some time now."It's my fault," he said slowly, rushing to explain as his friends' incredulous gazes fell upon him."The Warlords told me to choose what would happen to us.They held a knife to Cye's throat and said that… that I had to choose what they did to him.They said that they were going to kill him if I didn't choose.They said that I had to choose if they would kill him or… or if they would bring him to fight for the Dynasty…" he ranted madly, looking as though he had signed his friend's death warrant.

Sage moved one hand off of Rowen's shoulder to grip Kento's."It's not your fault, Kento.We're all still alive because of you.We can do something about Rowen and Cye."

"I think I'm okay," Cye said shakily.He pushed Ryo off of him and moved again towards Rowen."I'm not on a _side_, Rowen.You remember who you are, right?"He didn't wait for Rowen's answer, pushing on."We'll fix what they did to you later.Right now you just need to stop fighting us."Cye's kanji flared on his forehead brightly, bathing the area around him is a soft sea-blue light.Rowen went limp, blinking uncertainly at the others.

Cye motioned sharply.Sage and Kento regarded him carefully for a moment before rising slowly, ready to tackle Rowen again if he tried anything.He merely stood up, looking around, obviously disoriented.Sage made a face and turned to Cye.

Sage walked over to peer into his friend's glazed eyes, appalled at the hollow shells that stared right through him.Taking his friend's head in his hands, Sage peeled the eyelids back one at a time to get a better look.His hands flared green for a moment as he tried to heal his friend.Gasping when nothing happened, he called his armor, swaying slightly from the strain.Cye flinched as Sage grabbed his head again, obviously confused but not willing to fight one of his friends.An eerily beautiful green light began to burn around Sage, the fires reaching out to Cye, engulfing him.Moving back, he shook his head slowly in disbelief.In backing away slowly, his foot came into contact with something soft, bringing a soft groan from behind him.Oblivious to having stepped on someone, Sage fell to his knees.The others didn't need to ask to know that Cye was still blind.

A shaky black-cloaked form shambled past Sage, kicking him in the shin on the way by with a look that could have cut steel."You need to learn what you're doing," Cye murmured softly to Sage as the girl snagged his head in both of her hands.A preternatural silver light surrounded both of them for an instant.

The girl looked at Cye's eyes with the depths of her soul.The eyes themselves had been burned away, leaving a shell of the eye for her to work with in healing.Not precisely sure how an eye was supposed to look, she quickly modeled his eyes after her own, the only alteration she made was in choosing the color.She seemed to remember that the boy had sea-blue eyes.

Stepping back, she inspected her handiwork.Cye blinked uncertainly, immediately squinting at the dim light produced from the flickering torch."Oh man, is that bright," he complained, moving deeper into the shadows of the tunnels.Once safely out of the light of the torch, he uncovered his eyes to regard his friends, baffled by their horrified expressions.

"What the hell did you do to him?" Ryo all but shrieked, shaking the girl roughly.

"My God…" Kento breathed, unable to tear his eyes away from Cye's.

Sage and Rowen only stared in shock, unable to say anything as they stared at Cye's eyes, glowing softly red from the shadows.

***

Cale walked slowly down the hall, utterly baffled.That Kayura had locked herself in her room and refused to speak to him was no shock.She made a point of avoiding the Warlords.Dais and Sehkmet had been fighting when he walked by.No, that wasn't quite right.Sehkmet had been laughing his ass off while Dais proceeded to pulverize him.

He shook his head slowly, turning down another corridor to look in on the pretty-boy Ronin and perhaps have a bit of fun with him.Opening the door to the cell, he gasped.Chains were strewn about the stone floor, but the boy was nowhere to be seen.Growling deep in his throat, he sprinted down the halls to check on Hardrock.Upon finding the second Ronin missing, he knew there was no point on checking on the other two.As he spun to leave the cell something caught his eye.Running along the height of one wall were a series of small finger-sized holes, ending abruptly nearly twenty feet off of the ground at an open air duct.

Sneering contemptuously, he trotted to the one place where the ducts let out safely.The traps lining the narrow passages prevented movement through the tight spaces unless you knew exactly how to avoid them.The maze of tunnels was such that whoever freed the Ronins must know their way around with extraordinary detail.If that someone knew how to get in, then they would also know the way out.

He chuckled at the thought of the 'safe' way out.No one had ever passed through the under-tunnels and survived.For hundreds of years now, every creature created by the Dynasty that was deemed too violent, unstable, or untrustworthy was tossed into an enormous chamber deep within the bowls of the castle.Over time, the monstrosities trapped there had tunneled out, deep caves undermining the entire area.

He trotted unconcernedly down the tunnels, knowing full well where the Ronins and their savior would emerge.

***

After fighting off Ryo and Kento, the girl moved over to Cye, gesturing slowly while watching him intently.Growling softly to herself, growing increasingly annoyed, she gestured more sharply.Cye snapped his head back, gasping.His eyes began to swirl slightly, the molten ruby pools flickering slightly before shifting into a clear sea-blue.Nodding contentedly to herself, she motioned for the Ronins to follow, silently disappearing down the tunnel leading out.

Cye was the first to follow, mainly to get away from his friends' incredulous stares, moving out to the edge of the tunnel to stare calmly at the seemingly endless drop before him.After only a moment's debate, he lowered himself over the edge, grateful for the slender arm that slipped around him.Within a few minutes of climbing down, the girl crammed him into a narrow tunnel where he immediately settled to wait for the others.

Turning to climb back to get the next Ronin, she launched herself across the wide pit she had just moved down with Cye, slamming into the other side roughly before sliding a few feet down the ragged stone in an attempt to stop her descent.Hissing in vexation, she moved over to Cye once more, stuffing a very surprised Kento into the tunnel with him.

"Slipped," he murmured ruefully, still trembling slightly.

Kento turned to apologize for his behavior a few minutes ago, only to have an appalled Sage deposited in his arms.Snickering softly at Sage's wide-eyed expression that was apparent even in the blackness, he set his friend down, moving slowly away from the opening of the air duct.A frenzy of cursing made the three Ronins grin.Rowen. After waiting for a moment, Ryo and a very indignant Rowen were deposited in the tunnel with them.

Tapping each Ronin on the shoulder as she passed, the girl moved deeper into the duct, glancing back occasionally to make sure all of the boys were still there.Weaving through the tunnels swiftly, she paused at the final opening, indicating sharply that they needed to stay there for a moment, vanishing into the inky blackness before them.The other Ronins squirmed uncomfortably, all of them looking like they wanted to bolt, Cye thought.

Cye blinked suddenly.How did he know that?He was sure that his eyes were no longer glowing, their meager red light no longer present.He had seen Ryo and Kento quite clearly as they pounded on the girl earlier.He had moved to stop the fight, only to be intercepted by Sage, who grasped his head firmly while looking into his eyes.Cye had nearly had a seizure when he had seen the glowing red points of his eyes reflected in Sage's.Chewing his lower lip softly, he glanced around.Nothing was in vivid detail like it had been earlier, but he could still make out faint outlines of things around him.Not wanting to worry his friends, he remained silent.

The girl returned to the group of Ronins after scouting the area carefully.She grimaced as she remembered some of the things that slunk around in the dark here.Tossing the Ronins out of the tunnel opening one at a time, ignoring their startled squawks, she trotted over to where they had landed, fumbling for a moment to light a torch.In a single violent swirl, her eyes shifted from ruby to a shadowed jade.

Moving over to Cye, she tugged on the chest-plate of his subarmor, shaking her head.Cye blinked in confusion, eyes narrowing slowly.

Before she could make a second attempt to make herself understood to the boys, a soft noise caused her to spin sharply, dousing the torch.Her eyes flashed red in an instant as Cye watched her intently.Pushing the Ronins into the corner of the room furthest from the cave openings, she snagged the blond one, the only one she thought had enough brains and common sense to do this right, and trotted to the center of the room with the squirming boy over her shoulder.

Sage shifted uneasily from atop the girl's well-muscled shoulders, squawking as he was abruptly dropped to the ground.A hand immediately slapped across his mouth, forbidding any further sound.A hand was similarly placed across his chest, indicating that he was not to move.The hand on his mouth moved quickly but gently to pull his eyelids shut and pry his mouth open.Something warm and wet slid across his throat, only to be quickly rubbed into his skin by slender hands.He tried not to squirm, hoping that wetness wasn't what he thought it was.A slender hand was placed on his chest again for an instant before the girl vanished into the darkness.

Sage hesitantly cracked one eye, swallowing nervously as he saw a figure with a torch near him.Recognizing the shape of the armor, it was all Sage could do not to move as Cale approached.He snapped his eyes shut, stilling his breathing and forcing his muscles to go limp.

***

Cale heard something scurry about in the shadows around him and began to finger his no-dachi nervously.Seeing something glint in the torchlight just ahead of him, he moved on stubbornly, ignoring the erratic pounding of his heart.

Drawing nearer, he gasped as he recognized the pretty-boy Ronin sprawled across the floor, blood covering all of him not protected by his subarmor."My God," he breathed.Prodding the limp form with one armored toe, he stepped back quickly as something darted in front of him, claws clicking softly on the stone floor.

A blood-curdling snarl rang through the blackness around him, a pair of red eyes slowly beginning to circle him.Cale swore.The darkness here was unnatural, and he was unable to see through it with his usually exceptional vision.Clutching his no-dachi firmly in one hand, Cale twirled on the balls of his feet to make sure that _thing_ stayed in his view, keeping the torch directly between the two of them.

The red eyes winked out suddenly, thoroughly unnerving Cale.Where was it?!Hearing a soft breath behind him, he tried to spin, losing his torch when something slammed firmly into his arm.The light flickered and died immediately.Lashing out wildly, he cursed when his no-dachi connected with nothing but air.

He looked about frantically for the red eyes, spotting them two paces to his left.He shifted to swing at it, freezing when another pair of glowing eyes appeared on the far end of the room.Crying out, he stumbled back, landing hard as the first creature tackled him, thick fangs sinking into his exposed neck.Thrashing wasn't helping him any.This creature was too strong.He kicked feebly as flashes of light began to dance in his vision, eyes glazing as the seconds ticked by.

Without warning, whatever held his throat released him, allowing his helmet to fall back into place.Head spinning, he staggered to his feet, bolting unsteadily to the door, slipping out quickly.Resetting all of the locks and barriers holding the door, he held his neck in trembling fingers.

Whatever had him had purposely let him go.He had obviously lost, but that thing hadn't finished the job.His head spun too fiercely to ponder why he had been released, instead staggering unsteadily down the halls, oblivious to the red trail he was leaving.

Lurching into the room where Dais and Sehkmet were yelling loudly at one another, he opened his mouth to speak, producing only a soft gurgling sound.Dais looked in his direction, his one eye widening as he saw his fellow Warlord clinging to the door, blood running down his armor to pool at his feet.Sehkmet reached out to steady him, face twisting in horror as Cale crumpled to the floor, breath rasping loudly in a shredded throat.

***

Cye blinked in the blackness, frowning at the scurrying he heard after Cale dropped his torch.Concentrating fiercely, he felt his eyes ripple, shifting.A choked off gasp from Kento told him he had succeeded, not to mention the clear view of the two combatants before him.

His throat seized when he saw the girl tackle Cale, pulling back his helmet to sink her teeth into his neck.Cye trembled violently, not noticing the comforting hand Kento placed on his shoulder.

***

Waiting for Cale to dart out of the cavern that had once been a huge dungeon-like room, the girl trotted back to the Ronins huddled in the corner, pausing to pull Sage to his feet.Carefully fanning the torch that Cale had dropped, the girl reverted her eyes back to jade as a dim flame sprang into existence, causing Cye to cry out, covering his eyes frantically.

Ryo glanced worriedly at the youngest Ronin, chewing his lower lip forcefully.It tore him up inside that there was nothing that he could do for Cye.He was the leader of the Ronins; it was his responsibility to take care of the others._A fine job I'm doing too_, he thought angrily.Cye was acting strange and having problems with his eyes, and Rowen had become temperamental, violent.Kento and Sage had obviously been beaten repeatedly, both of them moving stiffly, but were trying not to let him see.

Sage recognized the expression on Ryo's face and moved to snap him out of his guilt-trip.Ryo made an odd sound in his throat as he approached, hands fumbling at Sage's neck, searching wildly for the wound.

"Don't worry, Ryo.I'm not actually hurt," he said softly, grinning at Ryo's frankly disbelieving expression.He tried to wipe the sticky blood off of his neck with the back of one armored hand, tried being the key word.Snagging the girl away from gesturing at Cye, he held up her hand in front of Ryo, showing him the row of self-inflicted teeth marks along the side of her hand.

The girl watched curiously as Ryo calmed at the sight of her hand, a slow grin forming on her face as she realized the reason.She snorted wryly.Like she would really hurt one of them.Forgetting those two, she turned to Cye again to make another attempt at getting her point across to the young warrior.When he still didn't understand, she turned to Rowen, gasping when he backhanded her for daring to approach him.

Cye grabbed Rowen's shoulders, forestalling him from continuing his attack.Rowen shook forcefully, struggling with himself for control, forcing himself to relax much to the relief of the four Ronins watching him.He couldn't help smiling guiltily at his friends' horrified expressions before grimacing to himself.

Snorting disdainfully, the girl approached him again, watching his hands warily.Tugging on the chest-plate of his subarmor, she shook her head, hoping he would understand where Cye did not.When his eyebrows rose towards his hairline, she hissed in vexation and moved on to Sage and Ryo, trying again to make them understand.

Cye's head snapped up suddenly.He cried out loudly, dropping to his knees, clutching his temples with shaking hands.

"Cye," Rowen cried out softly, dropping to hold his friend's trembling form to him, ignoring what this must look like.

Sage moved over, taking the younger boy's head in his hands, blinking in confusion when Cye pulled away, looking at the girl, who was still shaking Ryo.As if sensing his gaze, she dropped the startled Ronin, and turned to face him, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

Cye pushed Rowen away from him and stood unsteadily, never once breaking eye contact with the girl watching him intently.His head felt like it was packed with cotton.He blinked uncertainly at the feelings pounding within his skull._No armor_, he thought slowly, _or is it armor off?_He deliberated with himself for a moment before looking up at the others.

"I think that we need to take our subarmor off," he said slowly, earning himself four appalled stares and one satisfied grin.Swallowing nervously at the expressions of his friends, he banished his subarmor, standing in a wrinkled shirt and blue jacket, jeans bunching slightly around his sneakers.As the others followed suit slowly, he pulled the girl off to the side."That was you, wasn't it," he accused softly, scowling at the answering grin.

The others waited for Cye to turn back to face them once again.He did so slowly, his head throbbing anew.Mulling slightly over the stark, unrefined thoughts spilling into his head, he was about to open his mouth to speak when the inside of his head suddenly felt as though it were on fire.He dropped to the ground, convulsing, not hearing the worried questions from his friends, not noticing their comforting hands.The images that flashed in his mind burned with a fury, the horrifying thoughts and pictures raging through his mind threatening to push him over the brink of sanity.The blood, pain, and carnage that washed through his thoughts overpowered him.He dropped to the ground, convulsing.

_ _

_He felt as though he was in a dream, watching a village below him vanish into nothingness as a molten light passed across it.The charred remains threw ash and debris into the rising winds, carrying the stench of scorched flesh back to him.His eyes watered in disbelief as he raised a hand in front of him, pointing towards a few scrawny children staggering away from the chaos below, dragging an indistinguishable figure that must have been someone they knew.A bar of energy flew from his fingers towards the dark-skinned children.Screams echoed through the still night air._

Cye choked on a scream, tears streaming from his eyes.He was vaguely aware of being shaken roughly and of voices calling to him from a distance.

_ _

_He staggered into a small clearing, slipping into a hidden area known only to a few select people.The strange onyx-skinned people waiting within were all injured, some barely clinging to life.He heard himself bluntly inform those there that help was not coming.They cringed away from him, breathing heavily.Reaching out, he snapped the neck of the closest boy, moving silently to the next person._

A hand cracked across Cye's cheek sharply, causing his eyes to roll back in his head, but failing to stop the images flashing through his mind.

_ _

_He wandered through tunnels without and light of food.The unnatural blackness impaired his exceptional night vision.Something lunged towards him, talons extended.He rolled under the weight of the creature, slamming it into the wall behind him.Rolling to his feet, he glimpsed small traces of heat remaining on the ground ahead of him, leading into the tunnels beyond.He growled.There must be dozens of them.He turned to the two companions that were still with him, both bleeding from numerous wounds that were beyond his ability to heal in his current state._

_ _

_As the three ran down the tunnels, a cry from behind alerted him just in time to drop into a tight roll, narrowly missing the flying form that careened by him.The smaller of his two companions tackled the mass of scales and fur as it spun to charge them again.Cye felt his lips peel back in a silent snarl.He leapt over the two combatants, knowing that his friend would never survive the encounter.His one remaining companion and he ran on, ignoring the shrieks echoing in the tunnels behind them.A light appeared ahead.The only person left with him spun to face another attack, screaming for him to go.Cye cast one glance back at his lifelong friend before leaping through a portal of glowing light, something snagging his leg as he passed through, tearing the flesh to the bone.A flash of light erupted from Cye's hands as he frantically tried to pull himself out of the tunnels completely, blasting the shimmering glow of the portal.The strange light flickered, the essence of the portal wavering as he pulled himself free, the dead weight on his leg sliding through the light slowly, the gateway seeming almost reluctant to let it pass.The creature with eight legs blinked at being pulled through the light, triangular maw raising to the sky in confusion for a moment before it escaped into the night._

Cye sat bolt upright, gasping for breath.His four friends were gathered around him, worry painting their faces.Noticing a pair of strong arms holding him, he looked into Rowen's haunted eyes, tears on the verge of falling.As he tried to stand, supported by four sets of hands, a strange pressure began again in his temples."Lights," he panted."We need to get rid of all of the lights.They can see the light.We don't want them to see us.No armor.They'll sense it.We don't want them to know we're here.Have to be quiet.They hear so well…" he trailed off, looking at his friends' mystified expressions.Thinking about what he had just said, he understood their looks perfectly.What he had just told them made no sense to him either.

Ryo scowled as the girl pulled him away from his friend.He blinked in horror as she pointed to the torch, shook her head, then put a warning finger across his mouth.Turning to the others, he called out softly, "That was her.She was trying to tell us what to do through Cye."

Rowen jumped to his feet, intent on killing the girl before him, thoroughly ignoring everyone and everything else until Cye jumped between them.Glaring at Rowen sharply, Cye took and deep breath."We need to get going.Cale is still alive and there's no telling how long it will take him to come back."

As the girl motioned sharply, the five Ronins lined up doubtfully, each holding the shoulder of the person in front of them, every one of them looking about frantically as the girl doused the torch and led them into one of the caves leading from the room.Cye shifted his eyes, watching his surroundings carefully as he entered the absolute blackness of the cave.He shuttered at the thought, at the memory of the tunnels.

***

After travelling for some time in the endless caves, passing by countless intersections, the girl slowed her backbreaking pace for a moment before stumbling to a stop, staring at a caved-in section of tunnels before her in horror.Leading the Ronins to a dead-end, she held up her hands for a moment, silver flames arcing from her fingers to create a dully shining dome in front of them, blocking off the entrance to the short tunnel they had entered.Cye only squinted at the dome for a moment before allowing his eyes to shift back to their original sea-blue, much to Kento's relief.

Cye regarded the dome thoughtfully.There was a fair amount of light on this side of the dome, but everything on the other side of the softly pulsing barrier was the pure, uncorrupted blackness they had been walking through for hours on end.In that time walking through the caves, Cye had slowly calmed down as he neither heard nor saw anything alive, excluding the six in their group.So many of the memories that had shot through his mind had been in tunnels like this one.Even worse, some of the memories immediately preceding the ones in the caves had been in Talpa's castle.Although he was no longer in a frenzy, he still watched the tunnels warily, afraid that some of those thoughts raging in his head earlier were real.

Engrossed in thought as he was, it took him a moment to realize that someone was talking to him.He looked up to see Ryo hovering over him, frowning slightly.

Having caught Cye's attention after speaking to him for almost a full minute, he began again."Could you tell us what she's doing?" Ryo asked slowly, hoping that his friend would know what was going on better than he did.

Cye got to his feet, noticing for the first time that the girl was trying to leave while indicating that they were not to follow.Kento was staying determinedly in her path, much to her frustration.Seeing him, she began anew with her gestures, pointing to them, to the floor, to herself, and then to the caves.Cye nodded slowly, turning to the others."She wants to scout, I think," he said quietly, not sure if the barrier stopped sound."One of the tunnels we saw had collapsed and I think that was the direction she wanted to go."

Kento and Sage grimaced at his casual acceptance of his new visual abilities, much to his annoyance.If she hadn't done this, he would still be blind.Sage had been unable to heal him.He sighed at their expressions, not wanting to start into this argument again, the first battle defending the girl from their accusations having been more than enough for him.He supposed that they would get used to this in time.He was actually beyond amazed that _he_ had accepted it so readily.

He convulsed suddenly, dropping to the packed dirt below his feet, curling into a fetal position, arms wrapped around his head.Rowen was at his side in an instant, as Kento would have been had he not been occupied with trying to keep the girl from leaving.Cye's lips peeled away from his teeth in something akin to a snarl."Damn you," he hissed angrily, "get out of my way.If you ever want to get out of these wretched tunnels alive, I need to find the way out.Move!"

Kento looked to his best friend, face paling.His eyes snapped back to the girl he was still holding firmly.Swallowing nervously, he stepped to the side, allowing her to pass by, hoping that when she did, Cye would snap out of whatever she was doing to him.Before leaving, she paused, looking to the youngest Ronin, still twitching on the floor.

"You needn't worry.The barrier will not allow anything from the Dynasty to pass through it.Sound and light are confined to this side," Cye said in a voice not entirely his own, almost reassuringly but not quite.As his lips closed on the final syllable, his body convulsed once again.

_ _

_In the tunnels, something was trailing him.Something big. He moved more quickly, trying not to make any more noise, hoping to outdistance whatever it was.No chance of that.It was fast.Very fast.He rounded a corner, backpedaling wildly when he ran into the thing face to face.It had circled around him, had found another route.The creature was an abomination, looking like some hideous twist between a dragon and a wolf.Armor-like scales covered whatever it was from glowing yellow eyes to sinuous serpent-like tail.Hair grew in sporadic patches between the scales, the heaviest line running down the backbone, framing a row of blade-like spikes running from the top of the thing's head to the tip of the tail.The body and leg structures were basically that of a wolf with legs a little too long, the feet ending in hideous talons.Looking directly at Cye, it advanced slowly, lips peeled back from horrendously long canines in the wedge-shaped head.The thing launched itself at him, his only thought was that he wouldn't be able to tell the others what he had seen in the tunnels were the group was about to pass…_

Cye lurched madly to his feet, pushing the supporting hands away from him.He looked out to the tunnels where the girl had gone.A growl rising in his throat, he shifted his eyes to infrared once again, looking at the traces of heat still present from where the girl had recently passed.He could follow her.Maybe he could still get to her.

He hadn't taken more than two steps towards the silver dome before the other four Ronins tackled him, pushing him to the ground.Eyes blazing an angry blood red, he thrashed forcefully, surprising himself and the others by managing to kick all four of his friends off of him.Jumping to his feet in a wordless growl, he moved towards the opening again, ignoring the hands that grabbed at him.He landed a solid blow in Sage's stomach and another in Ryo's jaw, spinning slightly to kick Kento's feet out from under him and push him into Rowen.Storming off towards the barrier, he stepped through, or tried to.His eyes widened in disbelief as his face slammed into the silver dome, the thing as solid as any of the stone walls in the caves.

The Ronins stared at the younger boy in shock, the words 'the barrier will not allow anything from the Dynasty to pass through it' echoing wildly in their minds.Ryo was the first to recover, darting over to the barrier.He reached out slowly, praying fervently that nothing could pass through the barrier from this side, that what they had heard only applied to the other side of the shield, that his hand would not pass through the girl's shield.It did.On the brink of tears, he hopped outside of the barrier and immediately darted back in, only to find Cye tracing the barrier with the tips of his fingers, ruby eyes swirling gently.

***

Several hours had passed.Ryo, Sage, and Kento sat against the wall of the cave opposite of Rowen and Cye.He was the only person that Cye would allow anywhere near him as he stared intently at the ground with molten eyes swirling in a blend of ruby and garnet.After sitting by the younger boy for a few minutes, Rowen had put his arm around him, pulling the younger boy into his lap, holding the trembling form to his chest.He needed to be comforted, but the other three wouldn't speak to him.Not that it had any effect on the smaller boy that he saw.Cye wasn't responding to anything anymore.

After the first hour, Sage had come over to him, attempting to heal him, giving up quickly as he came to the realization that this was not something that could be healed.Past that, the others had moved to the far wall and stayed there after Cye had chased Kento off with a growl.Ryo sat with his head resting on his knees, obviously crying.Sage had tried to tell him that it wasn't his fault, that there was nothing that he could have done, but Ryo was obviously not paying attention to him.

Cye's head raised slowly.He looked out to the tunnels with his sea-blue eyes.Seeing nothing, he tried looking with his new visual abilities, not seeing much past the bright glare of the silver dome.He noticed wryly that Rowen didn't pull away from him this time like the others did whenever he tried using his alternate vision.Climbing out of Rowen's comforting arms, he moved over to the shield once more.

Kento's heart throbbed painfully in his chest, a fluttering hawk in too small of a cage.It shouldn't be like this.They shouldn't have done that to Cye.The pain in his chest intensified as he remembered that it was his fault, no matter what the others had said.He had only been trying to make sure that Cye at least had a chance.He hadn't meant for this to happen.He was about to lower his head again when he saw Cye reach out to the barrier again, placing his hand against the smooth surface.

Cye looked at his hand resting gently against the surface of the dome._Light, what did they do to me?_ he thought, nearing tears once more.He looked back to Rowen, still sprawled against the wall, the shoulder of his shirt damp from where Cye had been crying.His hand shifted involuntarily, and he looked at it in disbelief.It was outside the barrier.Tears spilling down his cheeks, he followed his hand through what felt like thick jelly, stepping into the cave.He widened his eyes, looking about frantically.There.Something moved just down the tunnel and was heading this way.He was about to call out, to move to intercept the figure in the hall, but a hand grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him inside of the protective dome once more.

Cye turned to face Ryo's questioning eyes.He pried his friend's hands from his shirt, a small smile beginning to appear on his face."She's coming," he said slowly.

"Cye…" he began in a breathless whisper, cut off as a black cloaked figure barreled through the dome, hitting the ground in a roll before careening into the back wall of the very short tunnel.

Sage moved to pull the girl to her feet when she didn't immediately get up, surprised to find Cye there ahead of him.Cye stumbled back, eyes wide with disbelief.Sage didn't have to look hard to see why.The girl was nothing but a mass of lacerations, bruises, and blood loosely held together by what used to pass for a body.He placed his hands immediately on her head, flinching at the cold skin and slow pulse.He began to tremble forcefully at the amount of power coursing through his veins as he healed her, appalled by the sheer number of broken bones and torn muscles he encountered while healing her, refusing to stop until she was in absolutely perfect shape.Releasing her, he backed up slowly, sliding down the wall wearily, the trembling in his muscles increasing.He had seen her fight before.She was good.Strong too, to be able to toss the five of them around so easily, to carry them like she had so many times.What was she fighting that could have done _that_ to her so easily?What were they up against?He wasn't sure that he really wanted to know the answers to those questions.

***

Sage was grateful that the girl took a full two hours to awaken after being healed.He was exhausted, but judging from the way she trembled slightly in her sleep, she was much worse off than he was.He leaned against the wall as she pulled herself stiffly to her feet, trying to get another precious moment of rest before they started moving again.As she moved towards the shimmering silver wall, she paused to help him to his feet, a new respect for him kindling in her eyes.The silver wall vanished abruptly, two sets of red eyes winking into existence.

The group moved out again, Cye leading once more, being the only one who could follow her without impeding her movements.He gasped softly when he saw the girl's alternate route, a narrow tunnel sloping upwards in a continuously twisting pattern.For a moment, the girl seemed torn as to whom to send first, obviously considering leading the way yet wary of what might be following them.After only a moment's hesitation, she reached into the tight-fitting shirt she was wearing, pulling two knives from hidden sheathes at the small of her back, handing the twin blades to Cye.He blinked uncertainly at the knives, each as long as his forearm.

Cye moved forward slowly, tugging Ryo along with him.He might be able to see in the blackness surrounding him, but Ryo knew how to use weapons like this better than he did.Cye squirmed into the opening of the tunnel, Ryo directly behind him with the one blade that Cye had yielded to him.A soft noise echoed behind them.Cye turned his head to see Kento struggling behind Ryo, the passage much too narrow for the heavy-set boy.Halfway up the tunnel, Cye turned to reclaim the blade from a surprised Ryo.As he drew nearer to the opening ahead, he became increasingly agitated, emerging from the opening in a frenzy.

Suddenly free of the tunnel, Cye jumped to his feet, eyes scanning the area frantically.There was nothing there.When Ryo stumbled forward to place his hand on Cye's shoulder comfortingly, he nearly lost an eye as Cye spun in a panic, lashing out viciously.

"Easy.It's just me," Ryo whispered to his unnerved friend.

A slender hand immediately snapping over his mouth, Ryo found himself faced with a furious set of glowing red eyes.Lining up the Ronins in a frenzy, she began moving again at a backbreaking pace, the boys sprinting wildly to keep up.Ryo wondered why she was rushing forward so blindly.He had barely whispered.Surely nothing could hear that.

He was proved wrong within the span of half of a minute.A soft clicking echoed behind them, closing the intervening distance between them at an alarming rate.The girl spun around, darting past the Ronins.Cye stumbled to a halt, pushing the others to the wall in a tight cluster, placing himself in front of them protectively.Glancing down the tunnel the girl had raced down a moment ago, he witnessed the chaos that ensued.

Three wolf-like creatures circled the girl, two sets of golden eyes piercing the darkness along with one red.Cye's throat closed in horror as he made out the serpentine tails, the ridges down the back, and the wedge-shaped jaws supporting the enormous canines.The red-eyed beast, however, appeared to be nothing more than a wolf, if a wolf had huge leathery wings.It was enormous, but still a wolf for the most part.

Flipping the knife in his right hand to hold the blade in his fingers, Cye whipped his arm forward, blade flying smoothly to sink into a fur-covered throat.The girl dove past the stunned creature, twisting the blade viciously in its throat as she yanked it out, rolling immediately to her feet.

The two uninjured abominations lunged towards the girl as she rolled to her feet and spun to face them, spinning nimbly on the balls of her feet, blade blurring in her hands.He tore his eyes away from her battle as the injured beast rolled to his feet and began a shuddering lope in his direction.

Cye shifted his one remaining knife to his right hand, moving to circle the thing as it approached him.He made a miscalculation.The creature had never been heading for him, shooting by his shifting form to launch itself at easier targets, the four unarmed boys who were obviously blinded by the gloom.

He jumped towards the wolf-like creature as it passed, lashing out with his blade, momentarily gratified as he felt steel meet flesh.The waist-high beast ignored the sting of the steel in its back and tackled the nearest boy.Cye launched himself forward desperately, sinking the blade in his double-handed grip into the thick skull, knocking the thick jaws away from his friend's neck.

Panting softly, he pulled the heavy corpse from atop of Ryo, checking quickly to make sure he was still breathing before spinning to return to the battle raging behind him.Blood smeared the walls of the cave, two unidentifiable heaps of flesh lying next to the walls.The girl trotted past him, deftly decapitating the body of the creature beside Ryo.Handing the blade to Cye once more, she pulled Ryo to his feet, examining the ragged lacerations on his forearms and the deep holes in his throat.Her hands glowed silver for a mere instant before she started the group moving again.Ryo gingerly fingered the unbroken skin of his neck with trembling hands before allowing himself to be pulled along by the others.

***

Being healed took a lot of energy from both the healer and the healed.Within an hour of running, Ryo staggered to a halt, panting loudly.When Cye felt his friend's hand slip from his shoulder, he sprinted ahead, tugging on the girls arm to stop her.He was uncomfortable about leaving his friends blind in the tunnels for even a moment, but feared the consequences of calling out to get the girl's attention.Returning to the group, he had only to point at his gasping friend to get his point across.Mouth tightening, she pulled Ryo onto her back, resuming her lope immediately, much to Cye's irritation.Ryo needed to rest.Swearing mentally, hoping she could hear, he placed Kento's hand on his shoulder and started running again.

Cye lost track of time as they moved through the caves.Everything looked alike to him.They could be going in circles for all he knew.The muscles in his calves began to burn, merely annoying at first, growing to a fiery pain so crippling that he could no longer run.He stopped, not having the energy to run ahead to catch her.Hands on his knees, he lowered his head, gulping air into burning lungs.The girl returned after a few seconds, scowling fiercely, blatantly ignoring the four boys' trembling.Grabbing Cye's hand, she moved as though to start running again, earning herself a glare and a vulgar gesture.Not willing to argue the point, she pulled him a few feet into a much narrower side-tunnel, creating the silver barrier once more.Cye glared at her balefully.They had all been running for hours on end, herself carrying Ryo for some time now, and she didn't seem as though she needed the break.

After resting for perhaps five minutes, she regained her feet, creating a stir of groans from the five Ronins.Ignoring their protests, she held up one hand for a moment, looking at the five boys sharply before loping out of the protective dome back into the blackness.

"How the hell can she do that?" Rowen complained in a voice more a gasp than actual words.

"No idea, but I'm surprised that Kento didn't drop dead about three hours ago," Cye teased softly.

"Save it, you scrawny little punk.I can still whip you."

"As long as you don't try to eat me.I'd like to keep all of my limbs if it's all the same to you."

Sage grinned.They were speaking again.After seeing Kento and Cye avoid each other so adamantly during their last break, it was a relief to see that they weren't at one another's throats.He looked up in time to see Kento lunge at Cye, getting the smaller boy in a headlock.Squirming only helped Cye get his face wedged in Kento's armpit, resulting in a devastated, and slightly green, expression and a loud squawk.

"What's so funny?" Cye demanded, his eyes belying the angry expression on his face as he managed to pull free.Unable to keep up that deception, he grinned and tackled Sage, earning himself an outraged cry as he pinned the older boy.Not wanting those two to have all of the fun, Kento crashed the party, pinning them both with a satisfied grin.A small chuckle was all the warning he had before Rowen sent him sprawling across the floor into a wall.Each of the Ronins looked up from who they were grappling with, grinning like little boys.

Cye glanced over at Ryo.He hadn't joined in the fun, or moved at all for that matter.He lay sprawled on the floor where the girl had set him, barely breathing.Cye wandered over, rolling Ryo onto his back away from the wall to make sure his friend was all right, halfway expecting to get snapped at for waking him.When Ryo flopped limply onto his back, Cye would have given anything to have gotten the scolding.

"Oh shit.SAGE!"

Sage was beside him in an instant along with the other two Ronins.Ryo lay bonelessly on the floor, breath rasping in his throat, sweating heavily, and running a fever that both Sage and Cye would have sworn was impossible.Sage concentrated for a moment, a soft green glow enveloping him as he tried to ease the fever plaguing his friend.When he took his hands away, Ryo was as pale as before and breathing no easier.Sage clamped his teeth down on his lower lip, not knowing what to do.

Cye pushed him to the side, pulling Ryo into a sitting position despite Sage's protests.Ryo's jaw hung slack, not having the energy or the conscious thought to close it, awarding Cye with a clear view of what could only be fangs.The new length of his canines horrified him.His eyes widened further as Ryo opened his eyes for a moment to reach out towards him.Unable to tear his eyes away from his friend's eyes, pulsing softly red, he nearly wet himself when Ryo's hand grasped his shoulder lightly, claws pinching his skin slightly.

***

The girl trotted calmly into the silver dome unnoticed.She stared at the boy gathered in the corner, about to drop for a small rest when one of the boys, Ryo she thought, reached out to grab Cye's shoulder.Cye spasmed for a moment before slowly wilting away from his friend's gentle grasp.Intrigued, she approached the group, hissing as though burnt when getting a better view of Ryo.Tossing the other four Ronins out of the way as though they were no more than sacks of grain, she grabbed Ryo's head in both of her hands.Both of them were instantaneously surrounded in an inferno of silver flames.Releasing him suddenly, she rounded on the others furiously, gesturing madly, hissing in exasperation when they made no response.

A growl rising in her throat, she turned to Cye.He clutched his head for a moment, completely overwhelmed by the raw energy she inflicted upon him.His mouth hung loosely for a moment, eyes blank.

"How long has he been like that?" the words grated out of Cye's mouth, making the others squirm uncomfortably."How long?"

"We only saw him a minute ago," Sage answered quickly, eyes darting from the identical expressions of fury painting both the girl's and Cye's faces.

"The things in the tunnels here are dangerous.Some of them are contagious.I have never encountered one like the one that got him.Must be one of the newer rejects."The explanation stopped for a minute as the girl turned to regard Ryo regretfully."There is nothing I can do."

Kento exploded."There has to be something.You know the area and these things.Do something!"

Cye's blank face turned to him."I will do something.I will leave him here."

"We're not leaving him," Sage snapped, scowling fiercely.

"And what would you have me do?Bring him with us so you can see him suffer?Watch him die?Even if he survives, he will lose what remains of his humanity and attack us in the tunnels."

Releasing her hold on Cye's mind, she dropped the silver barrier, turning to leave.When it became apparent that three of the Ronins would not follow her and the fourth could barely stand after her mind hold, but was still scowling at her from unsteady feet, she turned back to them, lifting Ryo roughly across her shoulders, careful to keep his head and arms away from herself.When she moved to leave again, the others fell in behind her, reluctantly, but following still.

She would have to take the risk of bringing this one if it was the only way to get the others out of here.She had never thought that the one she had brought with her to convince the others to cooperate would be the reason that she nearly lost all of them.The twelve that died on the journey here would walk away in disgust if they even suspected that she was unwilling to risk herself to bring the Ronins out.Face hardening, she tried to think of some way to keep the boy from turning on them before getting them out of the tunnels.She could do something about him later.Her throat tightened suddenly.The tunnels had claimed another victim. She and the others had left to fulfill the one hope remaining to them, but only she had survived this wretched maze.Her memories turned back to the shattered remains of her home and all those that died at the treacherous hands of the dark ones who had betrayed them all.

***

Sage watched the girl worriedly when they passed strangely luminescent areas in the tunnels.She was obviously exhausted.He bit his lower lip in frustration at the entire situation.They were all tired, the girl was now staggering under Ryo's weight, and Rowen had taken up shoving him, hard, whenever he slowed down.Staggering to a halt, a silver dome sprang up around the group, earning a few gasps at the unexpected break.The girl deposited Ryo, tightening the bonds holding him hand and foot roughly before turning to scout ahead.Sage caught her as she passed by him, looking into haunted eyes that had seen too many things in life that no one should have to see.His eyes widened as he realized that she was on the brink of tears.

The dark circles under her eyes were new.He had never seen anything like that in her before. They had been traveling for at least two days in the blackness.They had run out of food and water some time ago and no one had had enough sleep.Sage was certain that she had not slept at all since he healed her sometime early in the first day they were traveling.Weaving unsteadily past him, she entered the tunnels once more.He squinted vainly after her in the darkness, making out nothing of her retreating form.

Sighing, he turned back to the others, sliding to the ground to get some much-needed rest.Rowen had moved to the furthest side of the dome from the others and was intently scowling at the ground in front of him.Cye and Kento were trying unsuccessfully to speak to one another, neither comfortable with talking at all for the moment.Ryo lay writhing within the tight bonds holding him, an occasional snarl escaping his lips.

Kento moved over to his tied friend, and began speaking to him softly like he had every break since they found out what was wrong with him.The first time Kento had started speaking, Ryo had frozen in his thrashing, listening to the soft words from his friend.Now Kento's presence only agitated him further and he began to buck wildly, wrists and ankles slick with blood from where the ropes holding him had torn the skin from his incessant thrashing.

Closing his eyes in disappointment, Kento shifted to move away from Ryo, seeing that he was no longer doing any good.A small snapping noise was all the warning he had.He turned just in time to see Ryo launch himself at him, throwing up his left arm to block the swing towards his head.Sinking his teeth into Kento's hand and his claws into his arm, he lashed out with his left arm, taloned fingers slashing Kento's face from forehead to right ear, across his right eye in the process.He howled in pain, falling away from his feral companion.

Ignoring the others, Ryo tried to bolt from the dome, slamming into the wall forcefully and bouncing back to fall into Rowen.Rowen promptly decked him and was kicked in return.The two combatants proceeded to pound on each other savagely for a moment, taking turns slamming one another into the glowing dome.Cye didn't hesitate before leaping into the turmoil, as many of his blows landing on Rowen as on Ryo.The three rolled along the ground wildly, Cye getting pinned for an instant between the silver dome and the other two.Sage could only watch in horror.

Cye leapt to his feet, throwing his arms skywards with a roar that echoed loudly within the silver shield.A spark of sea-blue fire appeared at his feet, swirling gently before rising to a whirlwind of blue flames that engulfed the slender boy.Howling, he sent a blast of blue flames into the two figures mauling each other, flinging them to opposite sides of the dome.

Tearing his eyes away from the battle, Sage dropped beside Kento, trying futilely to heal him like he had been unable to do for Ryo.His eyes widened when the lacerations resisted healing, appearing almost reluctant to close.Pouring more energy into what he was doing, he didn't notice Cye approach him from behind, nearly jumping out of his skin when Cye placed a hand on his shoulder.Raw energy rushed into Sage.He blinked in shock for a moment before he realized that Cye was only trying to help him heal his fallen friend.Swallowing nervously, he continued working, eyes widening in amazement as he realized that the energy Cye was providing him with was doing more than he could ever dream of.He sighed in relief as the wounds finally closed.He inspected his work after a moment, throat tightening as he realized that Kento's right eye did not regenerate any more than did the two fingers missing from his left hand.

Looking up to Cye, he tried not to flinch at the red-eyed gaze that met his own, knowing that it would only upset the younger boy.Cye turned his head to stare intently at Rowen, then Ryo, nodding in satisfaction as neither moved from where they had landed.Sage moved over to check on Rowen, startled to find that he had no more than a mass of bruises, all of which vanished easily.Hesitantly, he moved to Ryo's still twitching form.His eyes burned as he looked at his friend.He had been trying to avoid looking at him since what had happened and was shocked now to see how bad his friend looked.The beginnings of a muzzle twisted his face into something not quite human, teeth beginning to sharpen to match the canines.His hair had gotten longer, bushier, and his muscles larger and more defined.The talons on his hands were just that, retractable claws that made Sage cringe in horror.

Cye moved up behind him, still surrounded by the eerie blue flames that he had called up only moments ago.He flinched as Cye placed his hand on his shoulder once more, providing him with an endless supply of energy that seemed not to want to respond to his instructions, almost fighting him yet giving in because Cye willed it.Looking nervously to the silver dome, Sage's mind replayed the image of Cye slamming into it.He closed his eyes as he reluctantly accepted the energy given to him.Knowing where Cye was tapping this energy from did not put his mind at ease.

Tying Ryo firmly, Sage set about healing someone that he wasn't sure he should still call a friend.The bruises and the cuts from the rope were simple matters to attend to.He uncertainly began to work with the unconscious boy's mind, appalled by the chaos he found swirling in his dying consciousness.After fumbling and searching blindly for a moment, he found something that felt almost like the Ryo he knew.Almost.Locking the rest of the mind behind a barrier, he strengthened that one section, pulling Ryo awake with his mind forcefully before withdrawing rapidly and scrambling away.Ryo's eyelids fluttered for a moment before he passed out again.

***

Running uncomfortably under the weight of the unconscious boy, the girl considered yet another break as the boy shifted slightly across her shoulders.She did not relish the idea of him waking up while she carried him.Slowing to a stop, she deposited him roughly to the ground, immediately bringing up a shield.

She looked at the others carefully.The heavy-set boy had claw marks across his face which now sported only one functioning eye, the other nothing but a white orb staring blankly from beneath three parallel scars.She watched him carefully as he set down the blue-haired boy who had yet to regain consciousness.After having arrived back where she left them during the last break, it hadn't taken long to figure out what had happened.She had studied Kento for nearly an hour before she was finally convinced that he would suffer no serious effects from being attacked by Ryo.Either Ryo hadn't progressed enough to be contagious himself, or Sage had done something to the scarred boy that kept him from being affected.She had gotten a fairly clear account, and if it was the latter… Her mind reeled at the implications, the possibilities.There may yet be a way.

Rowen, however, terrified her.When she had arrived, he had been regaining consciousness.Seeing her had sent him into a murderous frenzy.As he attempted to tackle her, to choke the life from her, she had calmly kicked him in the stomach to send him careening through the wall of the silver dome.She had frozen in horror when he bounced off of it, eyes watering in helplessness.That shouldn't have happened.Upon experimentation, she had found that Ryo could not pass through the shield either, and Cye could only do it with a great deal of difficulty when he was calm.If he was angry, though, he could penetrate it no more than the other two.Unable to get Rowen to stop fighting her and the others, she had knocked him into oblivion, handing his unconscious form to Kento, hoping that the Warrior of Strength would be able to handle his added weight.

Slumping to the floor, she vowed that she would not leave them alone to go scouting again.Not after what had happened.She had tried to heal the half-blinded warrior, only to have him vehemently refuse after glancing at Cye.She sighed in resignation as she turned to watch Wildfire.

After a few minutes, he stirred slightly, eyelids fluttering open slowly.Crimson eyes regarded her for a moment before he struggled to get up.Blinking in confusion, he craned his head awkwardly to look at the bonds holding his wrists to his ankles.Giving a half-shrug, he twisted to move to a sitting position, swaying slightly trying vainly to keep his balance.The three conscious Ronins regarded him warily, eyeing the ropes holding him uncertainly, wondering if the girl had anything stronger than those thin cords hidden somewhere about her.

Blinking at the light of the dome, eyes narrowing into thin slits, Ryo turned to Kento guiltily."Sorry," he mumbled softly, voice not quite how they remembered it to be.Kento sat bolt upright, eyes widening as he regarded what he hoped was again his friend, swallowing uncertainly.

"Ryo?"

He cringed at his name, closing his eyes and turning away from the four regarding him closely.Opening his eyes, his gaze fell upon Rowen, lying unconscious some distance from him.His throat tightened._I didn't think I had hurt him that bad_.His guilty expression was enough to convince Cye that it was once again Ryo, and he immediately moved to untie him, ignoring the protests from Sage and Kento.

Free from the bonds holding him, Ryo curled into a ball, pulling his knees to his chest and hiding his head in his arms.He shifted his head slightly so that his shaggy mane of hair would fall over ears coming to points.Balling his fists so that none of the others could see his hands clearly, he began to tremble slightly, tears falling freely from his eyes.He wanted to leave, to be free from their pitying eyes, but knew the futility of trying to pass through the barrier around them.He remembered the battle with his friends all too well, slamming into the wall.His chest suddenly felt too tight for his heart as he remembered what that meant for him, for Cye, and for Rowen.

TBC…

At this point in time, I'm about to kill my computer.I'm not posting anything else until it stops acting up.Stupid oversized paperweight.


	3. Part 3

Midnight Shadows

Part 2

By Mieren

Ryo trudged along with the others down the tunnels, grateful for the darkness that hid him from his friends' eyes.  They had prodded him for nearly an hour, not understanding that he only wanted to be left alone, to be away from them before he hurt them again.  Cye walked beside him, occasionally glancing in his direction.  Ryo grimaced every time his crimson eyes met Cye's ruby.  It wasn't as bad as having the others look at him, but it still tore him up.  He didn't want the guys to see him like this.

Cye watched Ryo anxiously.  He had to snap out of this soon.  Looking ahead, he saw the girl quicken her pace slightly, nearly bouncing on her toes in excitement.  For a moment he didn't understand.  Then he saw it.  A golden light shining down the tunnel up ahead.  As he rounded the next corner the light became a glowing wall at the end of a long tunnel, the soft golden glow nearly blinding them all after the incessant darkness.

Grinning in Ryo's direction, he grabbed his friend's shoulder and began to trot happily towards the golden light, pulling the other three Ronins in his wake.  He was about to break into a full run when something surged up beneath his feet, throwing him to the wall.  As the breath was knocked out of him as he crashed into the wall, falling into a surprised Kento who in turn dropped Rowen.  Squinting at the creature in the dim light, Kento cried out in horror, backing away quickly.

Thick ridges covered yellow eyes tinged with green set deep in a heavily scaled maw lined with sharp fangs.  Layers of ridges ran down the creature to the tip of its long tail, resulting in a creature nearly twenty feet in length.  The serpentine form had only front legs but those were enough to thoroughly terrify the four conscious Ronins, each claw nearly a foot long.  Heavy muscles rippled beneath the thick hide, the spikes and blades jutting out from the thick scales shifting slightly.

"Armor of Hardrock!  Dao Gi!"

"NO!!!"  The distinctly feminine scream resounded through the caves.  Every one of the Ronins turned to regard the girl, her mouth still parted from the only word she had ever uttered.  Cye blinked.  He had felt her tap his mind enough times to realize that she hadn't this time.  He had always thought that she couldn't speak.  His eyes widened.  What could unnerve her so horribly that she would break whatever language barrier impeded her to be able to utter that one word?

His answer was immediate.  As Kento's armor appeared, a deep rumble began from every direction, growing louder as something approached them.  These tunnels were huge for the most part and whatever was coming was hitting the sides of the thing as it ran.  Cye looked up to the twenty foot ceiling above him and swallowed nervously, forgetting the serpentine creature before him.  A figure launched itself over his head, careening into the scaled nightmare mere feet from him, blades flashing in blurred hands.

Cye watched as the girl tackled the abomination, ignoring the razor-like teeth that sank into her shoulder, some of which clearly passed through to protrude from the other side.  The hideous claws slashed at her, tearing her left leg to the bone from hip to knee, blood pooling on the ground below the two combatants.  Whipping her arms around completely oblivious to the gashes torn in her flesh as she shifted inside the beast's jaws, she decapitated the thing.  Swaying unsteadily, she rounded on the Ronins.

Cye didn't resist as she grasped his mind.  "Get out of here!  Go to the light ahead and step through.  It is a passage to your dimension created by the ancients as they died trying to pass through this place unnoticed.  Go!"

Cye spun on the last word, sprinting towards the gateway with Kento and Ryo in tow, Sage sprinting behind them wildly with Rowen draped awkwardly across his shoulders.  Reaching the golden light, Kento launched himself through immediately, hoping his disappearance would slow whatever was coming when it could no longer sense him.  Cye tried to shove Ryo through after him, crying out as he bounced back from the opening of the gate, eyes wide.  Cye slammed his fist into the thing experimentally, tears streaming down his face as he realized it was like the silver dome the girl had created to protect them on their breaks.  Nothing from the Dynasty could pass through.  Sage was too far behind to see their struggle with the gate, chunking Rowen through the gleaming portal without pausing.  Cye caught his arm before he could leap across the gateway himself.

"We can't get by, Sage," Cye said slowly, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.  "Rowen shouldn't have been able to either."

Sage looked at them uncertainly for a moment, thinking frantically.  Spinning to Ryo, he slammed his fist into his friend's jaw, snagging his tattered shirt before he could slide to the ground.  Lifting him roughly, he tossed him through the glowing light, grinning at Cye's incredulous expression.

"Sorry 'bout this," Sage muttered as he decked Cye.  Cye fell back, head swimming.  His last vision before he passed out was of the girl swaying gently in the center of the tunnel, hastily wrapping a strip of her cloak around her shredded leg.  _Something_ was heading down the tunnel towards her, covering the distance at an appalling speed, two heads straining forward on long sinuous necks as six legs ending in thick talons pushed it forward in it's breakneck lope.  His vision winked out entirely as a golden light enveloped him, strong arms pulling him forcefully as an unseen force screamed in protest at his passage.

*     *     *

Kento and Sage watched the flickering golden light of the portal expectantly, waiting for the girl to appear.  Every now and then, Sage bent down to check on Ryo and Cye, both still unconscious from the blows Sage had delivered.  Rowen lay still on the pavement, breathing raggedly.

"She's coming, isn't she?" Kento whispered softly, voice trembling.

"I don't know," Sage murmured in response, nearing tears.

A groan caused them both to turn.  Cye was staggering to his feet unsteadily, throwing glares at Sage and spitting curses that they were both grateful that they could not fully understand.  Looking around, he scowled.  The girl was not there.  Striding purposefully towards the gateway, he ignored Sage's protests and Kento's grip on his arm.  Spinning to knock Kento's feet out from under him, he sprinted towards the golden light, cursing loudly when he bounced off.  Sea-blue flames enveloped the boy as he moved towards the portal again.  Leaning forward and bracing himself, he unleashed a blast of energy whose backwash threatened to destroy everything in the surrounding area.  The golden light in the center of the swirling mass shimmered unsteadily, shifting to a pale blue.

*     *     *

The girl had one of the two immense heads locked securely between her legs, her arms sunk firmly into the beast's neck.  Her eyes widened as the head swung upwards viciously, slamming her lithe form into the stones of the ceiling.  A cry escaped her lips as her left leg was jarred, the blood flow beginning anew.

A blue light shimmered in the tunnel behind her.  Turning in horror she saw its source.  Torrent was blasting through the portal in an attempt to reach her.  Fool.  What did he think he was doing?  Lips peeling back in a sneer, she released a blast of her own towards the shining gateway.  The momentary distraction earned her a slash down her ribs, breaking three on her right side and exposing all of them, the follow-through to the attack nearly disemboweling her.  Silver flames met blue and the worlds on both side of the portal went white.

*     *     *

Cye looked at the nearly blue portal, smiling to himself as Kento tried unsuccessfully to approach him.  He moved forward to step through the flickering light, ignoring his friends' protests.  As he reached out to touch the gateway with one hand while maintaining the energy blast with the other, silver flames erupted from the other side, knocking Cye nearly thirty feet before he rolled to a stop.

Kento watched his friend as he was bowled off of his feet, tears welling in his eyes.  He understood how Cye felt exactly.  The girl had come to rescue them and was now being slaughtered in the last battle she waged to make sure they escaped.  And it was his fault.  If he hadn't called his armor…

Turning away from his fallen friend, he gripped his tetsubo firmly in his one good hand and walked to the portal, stepping through.  The golden light felt eerie as it slid along his skin, still swirling madly from the effects of Cye's attempt to pass through forcefully.  Emerging into the near total darkness, it took him a moment to focus his eyes on the battle raging before him.  A black cloaked figure raced up the wall, flipping onto the back of the creature she faced, ducking to keep from being slammed into the twenty foot ceiling as the abomination bucked.

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

The sure-kill slammed into the chest of the two-headed monstrosity, thoroughly pissing it off.

*     *     *

Cye's blood-curdling scream had Sage by his side in an instant.  He watched in horror as wounds began to open along the smaller boy slowly, deep lacerations sliding down his limbs and face.  A single deep mark appeared on the top of his left arm, moving slowly down its length.  Sage placed his hand in the way, eyes tearing as the trench in the younger boy's flesh merely passed below his bloodstained fingers.  Unsure of what else to do, he healed his friend, holding his energies steady as more wounds appeared in the place of those he had just healed.  If this didn't end soon, Cye was going to die from blood loss, healing or no.

Being so thoroughly engrossed in keeping the youngest Ronin alive, Sage didn't notice as Rowen pushed himself to his feet and moved towards him slowly, careful to stay out of his sight.

*     *     *

As the sure-kill slammed into the beast, the girl felt the ripples of the blast pass through the bellowing form beneath her.  Ripping back the scales, she plunged her hand deep into the muscles of the beast's back, earning her an outraged roar.  She clung to her unsteady perch as the monstrosity bucked, pinning her to the ceiling, a stalactite lancing her left arm from shoulder to elbow.

Her eyes widened as she saw Hardrock staring wide-eyed in her direction.  Shit.  What was he still doing here?  Why hadn't he left when he had the chance?  Launching herself free of the scaled back, she leapt in front of the heavy-set boy an instant before a plume of flames slammed into her back, curling around her shrieking form to pass harmlessly on either side of the horrified Ronin.

Grabbing the boy in her arms, she began to move doggedly forward, ignoring the pain as the flesh of her back melted away.  Jumping for the gateway, she managed to shove the Warrior of Strength through as thick claws landed in her back, ripping deep trenches in her already abused form.  Teeth snapped into what remained of her shredded left leg.  Her scream echoed through both dimensions.

*     *     *

Kento rolled several feet on the other side of the portal before rolling to a stop.  Standing unsteadily, he saw the girl.  She was halfway through the gateway and was slowly sliding back in, despite her frantic clawing at the ground.  He leaped forward, grabbing her hands in his own, digging his feet into the ground for traction.  Her eyes widened and she cried out in agony.  Kento nearly lost his grip when Cye's cries began to chase hers towards the heavens.  Placing all of his strength into one remaining heave, he pulled the girl free of the portal, whimpering along with her when he saw the ruined remains of her legs and back, her eyes glazing she collapsed in his arms.

Spinning to get her to Sage, he stumbled over Ryo, bringing a groan from the stirring boy.  He'd apologize later.  Looking at Sage he nearly dropped the girl again.  Sage and Rowen were rolling on the ground, each of the boys trying his hardest to pulverize the other into submission.  Setting the girl down with a growl, he decided to end this, slamming his weight into both of them before pinning a cursing Rowen securely.  Sage only glanced at the two of them before heading to the girl.  He had heard her cries and remembered that she had not so much as whimpered when that creature that had appeared right before the gateway had mauled her leg and shoulder.

Reaching her prone form, he whimpered in sympathy.  Her legs and back were in tatters, flesh hanging loosely from the bones if it was there at all.  He gasped in recognition at the trench down the length of her left arm, a mirror image of the one on Cye's.  Sending his healing energies through her, he glanced back to the youngest Ronin, watching as the wounds along his slight frame were healed.  Swallowing nervously, he realized what that blast through the gateway must have done and wondered if it was intentional.  The silver blast _had_ altered slightly when it had collided with Cye's blue flames.

Moving back, he swayed on his feet, having lost a great deal of energy in healing Cye and now the girl.  He shook his head, blond hair falling across one eye much to his irritation.  He had seen the creature charging the girl as he pulled Cye through the gateway with him and thought it a miracle that she was still alive.  Someone placed a hand on his shoulder, nearly making him wet himself before he turned to see that it wasn't Rowen.  He nearly kicked himself.  Rowen wouldn't have put a hand on his shoulder.  He would have just slugged him.

Ryo withdrew his hand as Sage cringed.  He should have known that he still unnerved the guys.  He didn't exactly blame them either, not after what he did to Kento.  He closed his eyes, unable to get the image of the impassible gateway out of his mind, the two-headed monstrosity charging down the tunnel towards them.  His last vision had been of Sage's fist approaching his face.  He sighed.  _Sage is still mad at me for what I did to Kento.  I don't blame him.  I wouldn't trust anything from the Dynasty either._

Correctly interpreting Ryo's expression, Sage opened his mouth to apologize for hitting him in the tunnels, choking on his words as Ryo turned to walk away.  Ryo didn't get very far before falling flat on his face, a slender hand gripping his ankle relentlessly.  Sage could only watch in a mixture of pity and wry humor as the girl tossed an extremely irked Ryo across her shoulders before moving to pull Cye to his feet.  Picking up Rowen by his belt, she tossed him through the air in Kento's direction, grinning as they both toppled to the ground.

"I can walk!  Put me down!" Ryo squawked indignantly.

"Suffer," Cye responded sleepily, not even looking in his direction.

"Have it your way," he muttered, craning his head to look at the girl out of the corner of one crimson eye.  Spinning deftly across her shoulders, he twisted free of her grasp and slid his right arm between her legs, grabbing her right hand with his left.  An astonished cry echoed through the empty streets as Ryo stood up, the girl draped across his shoulders.  Sage winced when it became apparent that he was using the girl to hide himself from their pitying eyes.  His worry was broken as the girl began to laugh hysterically, trembling slightly with her gasping breaths from atop Ryo.

"Have it your way, Wildfire, but take my advice that this is no way to pick up a girl," Cye's voice called loudly to the astonishment of the others.  The girl thought that this was funny?  They had all thought that she'd be furious at the precarious position.

Chuckling weakly to himself, Sage moved ahead to lead the weary group on the long trip back to Mia's house.

*     *     *

Upon arrival at Mia's house late that night, Ryo had immediately confiscated the girl's cloak, wrapping in tightly about himself as he raced upstairs to lock himself in his room.  Before Mia could get a look at the guys or start asking questions, Cye pulled her into the kitchen, seating himself across the table from her.  He began to explain what had happened simply, leaving out his eyes and what had happened to Ryo in the caves.  Ryo could tell her when he was ready.

"You need to stay away from Rowen.  Probably Ryo and me too.  After what happened, I'm not sure we're safe to be around…" he trailed off, looking up at Mia with eyes too old for his age.

"You two better be cookin' in there," Kento called out loudly.  A muscle in Mia's cheek twitched slightly.

"He didn't change any," she muttered, standing to move over to the fridge.  Glancing over her shoulder at Cye, she paused.  "There's more, isn't there.  I need to know what's going on Cye.  All of it."

Heaving out a breath, he looked at her imploring eyes.  "Just remember that you asked," he murmured softly, motioning with one hand.  The lights in the kitchen went out.  Mia choked off a cry as she stared into the crimson eyes regarding her.  Seeing her horror, he raised one hand, concentrating fiercely.  A burning orb of blue light appeared just above his right hand, illuminating the room with a soft glow that sent eerie shadows chasing each other about the kitchen.

Trying not to sigh at Mia's reaction, he let the glowing blue light fade out and turned the lights back on.  Motioning for her to sit back down, he added what he had left out before.  "When I was in the pools, I opened my eyes while underwater.  Whatever that stuff was, it blinded me and Sage wasn't able to do anything about it.  The girl was able to restore my vision, but now my eyes are like hers, I guess.  Ryo got it much worse…" he broke off as Mia surged to her feet, murder in her eyes.

"I'm gonna kill her," she hissed, moving for the door.  Cye grabbed her as she passed him, calmly pushing her into a chair.

"She didn't do anything to Ryo.  Something got him in the tunnels…" he trailed off for a moment as he considered the best way to tell her that Ryo wasn't exactly human anymore and was undoubtedly dangerous.  He didn't have to say anything.  Mia's expression told him that she understood that something was terribly wrong.

"And about the blue flames?" she whispered unsteadily.

"I'm not exactly sure.  I think that it has something to do with my time in the pools, and if that's the case then Rowen can do it too."

Mia nodded numbly, standing once again to move over to the stove.  Silently, Cye moved to help her cook as Kento's voice rang through the house once more.

*     *     *

Weary or not, the girl wasn't about to show any signs of weakness in front of the two Ronins regarding her carefully in the living room.  Grabbing the third Ronin from where he lay senseless on the floor, she trotted upstairs to deposit him in his bed, tying him there after a moment of consideration.  Trotting back into the hall, she was less than surprised when she found Ryo's door securely locked.  Grinning, she went out to the balcony jutting from Sage's and Rowen's room, hopping over to cling to Ryo's window for a moment before slipping in gracefully.

She slunk towards him silently, preparing to scare the daylights out of the boy from where he sat of the edge of his bed.  She paused when she noticed him trembling.  Was he crying?  Moving into his line of view, she waited for him to acknowledge her before moving any closer to him.  He didn't look up from his hands folded in his lap.

Sighing, she moved to sit by him, placing one hand on his shoulder.  She sent a small probing spark of energy through him.  Her brows knotted in confusion.  He _still_ wasn't contagious.  That was downright impossible.  She knew that he was there mentally after something Sage did to him, something that she intended to find out in full detail soon, but he should have long since passed the stage where he could infect others.  Curious, she sent another ripple through him, eyebrows shooting up to her hairline when his virtue kanji flared in response.  His kanji?  Was the strong life force, the unconquerable soul of a Ronin, what was protecting him?  Perhaps the armor?  She was about to check on her theory when Ryo looked up to her.

Her heart twisted when she saw the pain painting his expressions at what had happened to him, the guilt that he hadn't been able to help his friends and had even attacked one of them.  Throat tightening, she slipped her arm fully around his shoulders and pulled him closer to her, trying vainly to quell his shaking.  For a moment he remained limp in her arms before embracing her desperately, eyes watering as he buried his face in her shoulder.

He stayed in her arms like that for nearly an hour, trying unsuccessfully to convince himself that his friends would understand what had happened to him, that they would treat him like they always had.  He couldn't stand the pity in their eyes, the fear that showed through when they looked at him.

He felt as though he had been abandoned when she pulled away from him, whimpering softly in protest.  Her hands reached over to him, lifting his arms straight into the air.  Confused but unwilling to do anything to upset the only person who wasn't acting strangely around him, he complied, eyes widening when she pulled his shirt over his head.  Squirming uncomfortably, he reached for his shirt only to have her toss it to the other side of the room.  With gentle hands she traced the heavy muscles that rippled beneath his skin where none had been before.

Ryo pulled away, glaring at her angrily.  She was looking at him as though he were a lab experiment or a new species that needed to be examined.  The curiosity in her eyes infuriated him.  He opened his mouth to snap at her, only to have her grasp his head in both of her hands, peeling his lips back with her thumbs to examine his teeth.  Almost bristling, he tried to pull away as she bent to examine his hands.  A soft silver glow surrounded her as she looked up to him curiously, mouth parted as though she wanted to say something but didn't know the words.

He forced himself to relax, allowing her to thoroughly study him, crying out in protest as she deprived him of his jeans.  She ran her hands experimentally up his legs, sending a soft flow of energy into his muscles, glancing up at his face for a moment.  She chuckled softly.  Ryo knew immediately why she was chuckling.  He must have been as red as his yoroi.  Before he could say anything, a massive pulse of energy shot through him, making him gasp through clenched teeth.

Grinning to herself, the girl hopped to her feet and disappeared by the same route she had entered, waving to him as she launched herself out of his window.  Frowning at her disconcertedly, he choked on his own tongue as he caught a view of himself in his mirror.  He ran quavering fingers uncertainly over a face that he had know since childhood, breaking into a grin when he realized what she had done.  Dressing hurriedly, he darted downstairs to get a chance at the food before Kento got to it.

*     *     *

Mia, Cye, Kento, and Sage sat at the table silently.  What could they possibly say to one another?  Mia's jaw tightened every time she saw Kento's eye or what remained of his left hand, the two outermost fingers missing.  It had taken her some time to bring herself to ask them what had happened to Ryo, face paling in horror when Sage broke down and told her.  After having heard that, she was afraid to ask anything else.

The girl ambled happily into the room, plopping down at the table and securing herself a plate and a large quantity of food, actually out-eating Kento.  There was a first.  Shoveling away at the food cheerfully, she tapped Sage on the shoulder, pointing to his head and then upstairs.  Sage blinked carefully, chewing his lower lip.  Did she want to know about what was wrong with Rowen or what he did to Ryo?  It was probably one of the two.  Deciding on the latter, he opened his mouth to respond, blinking as Cye jumped up and grabbed the girl by the front of her shirt to slam her into the wall.  He had obviously understood the question, maybe even heard it for all Sage knew.

"How the hell could you be asking something like that now?!  You're the one who's responsible for this!  You could have taken a different way out of the castle!  You obviously got there some other way than by how you got us out, so why didn't you take us back the way you came!  If you had been thinking at all…"

"She would have left your ass in the pools," Ryo finished for him, ignoring his friends' dumbfounded expressions.  "She couldn't go out the way she had come in.  The Dynasty gate crumbled behind us.  She took us out the only way she knew how.  If she had tried anything more than she had, she might have drawn attention to our escape, which is something we most definitely did not need."  Still ignoring their astonishment completely, he grabbed a plate of food and plopped down in an empty seat, grinning at their incredulous expressions.

"How…" Sage began, trailing off uncertainly.

"The girl," he responded simply, stuffing too large of a bite into his mouth.

Cye blinked guiltily, lowering the girl to the floor and moving back to his seat.  Sniffing disdainfully, she confiscated his dinner roll as punishment for his actions.  Turning back to Sage, she waited patiently.

"Uh… it's not really something I can explain.  I'll have to show you later.  I can't really put words to what I did."

Nodding impatiently, she plucked the roll off Sage's plate as well.  Kento regarded her carefully for a moment before moving his plate a little further from her, laying one arm protectively across the table in front of his meal.  Raising an eyebrow at him, she tossed her knife in his direction, the blade planting itself into the table a hairsbreadth away from his arm.  He squeaked, jerking his arm back.  As he yanked his arm away, his roll disappeared as surely as Cye and Sage's had.  Ryo lost his roll just for chuckling at her antics.  Mia shook her head in resignation, staring at her thankfully empty plate, smiling in spite of herself.

*     *     *

After dinner, the girl all but kidnapped Sage, dragging him behind her with one hand while balancing a plate of food in her other.  Sage's eyes widened when he realized what she was after.  She wanted him to do the same thing to Rowen that he had done to Ryo.  Having learned from Cye that Sage wasn't strong enough to do this on his own, she obviously intended to supply him with her energy while she watched what he did with it.

Rowen was already awake when they walked in, writhing in the bonds holding him, snarling at the two as the entered.  He blinked at the food the girl held, obviously hungry enough to put up with anything as long as it meant that he got to eat something.  Looking askance at Sage, she began to feed Rowen, grinning slightly at his indignant expression at being handled like a baby.  To irritate him further, she purposely let some of the gravy dribble down his chin so that she could wipe it off, grinning triumphantly at his furious expression.  Rowen choked when she looked at his tattered clothes and immediately found a clean set in the dresser, holding them up for his inspection, complete with a clean set of boxers.  Sage only massaged his temples and sighed.

Sage moved over to the bed, kneeling beside his friend.  The girl immediately dropped the clothes she had been taunting Rowen with and moved to stand behind him with her hands on his shoulders.  A soft green glow enveloped all three, silvery flames flickering in and out of existence to create glittering swirls within the emerald light.  He moved through Rowen's consciousness, looking for something that resembled his friend.  A sudden flash of blackish blue filled his vision as Rowen began to fight back, growling softly at the two people in front of him.  Silver flames shot into existence forcefully, suppressing the dark blue with a skilled grace that Sage didn't think he would ever be able to accomplish.  Ignoring the two as they battled, he began again, surprised to find the girl's power still steadying him as he worked.  After what seemed like an eternity, he found a distant corner in his friend's mind that was still him.  Sectioning off everything else, he placed what almost appeared like a shield around everything that was not his friend's consciousness, and slowly awakened what was.

Rowen's eyes unglazed abruptly.  He looked at the girl holding him to the bed, remembering suddenly how he had bucked.  He relaxed completely in her grasp and was immediately rewarded by being unbound.  He opened his mouth to apologize for everything he had done, blinking in surprise as Sage immediately spun to leave.  He tried to call out an apology but choked for the second time in so many minutes as the girl once again held up a change of clothes and advanced slowly towards him.  He flattened himself to the wall, his face reddening as he heard Sage chuckle as he walked out the door of their room.  _She wouldn't_.  Rowen's startled shriek echoed through the house as he found out quite quickly that she indeed would.

*     *     *

Kento slunk to the kitchen silently, eyes darting wildly.  Opening the fridge as quietly as he could, he pulled out several types of meat and cheese, layering them thickly between two slabs of freshly baked break.  Preparing to enjoy his midnight snack, he didn't see the shadow that appeared behind him, reaching slowly towards the unsuspecting Ronin.  Kento blinked as his sandwich disappeared from his hands, jaws working silently.  He spun around to confront the thief, growling as he saw the girl contentedly munching on one end of his sandwich.  Snatching it back from her, he did his best to cram the entire thing into his mouth, ignoring her grin as he made sure that she could not get at his snack again.  Chuckling to herself, she slipped back upstairs.

*     *     *

Sage blinked blearily as he felt a slight draft.  He must have kicked off his blankets again.  He, like the others, had not been sleeping as quietly as usual these past two weeks.  They were all still recovering from what the Dynasty had done to them.  Unable to fall asleep again, he draped a robe across his shoulders, ambling downstairs sleepily.  He found Kento in the kitchen, mouth stuffed with what looked like the better part of a very large sandwich.  Chuckling softly, he sat down at the table across from his friend, grinning widely.

"It's not going to vanish if you don't eat it in two seconds flat," he murmured.

Kento glared at him, swallowing hard.  "It might with that girl around.  She got about half of it before I could pry it out of her hands."  Sage couldn't help but snicker.  Ever since that first time raiding Kento's plate when he had moved to stop her, she had made a game of stealing his food, usually right out from under his nose.  He was almost sorry that he had missed it.

"So why're you up?" Kento asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

Blinking sleepily, Sage frowned slightly, deep in thought.  If he had kicked off his blankets, that would have accounted for being cold.  But a draft?  His eyes widened and he chuckled slightly. 

"Because I think she's at it again."  He didn't need to explain further.

"Shall we get the camera?" Kento suggested, grinning wickedly.

"Nah.  If this is like any of the other times, we can get a picture in the morning.  I'm not risking going into my room at the moment.  Not after what happened last time."

Kento chuckled wryly.  He remembered quite well what had happened the last time the girl had been interrupted from torturing Rowen.  Sage hadn't been able to walk straight for three days.

"I didn't think it was that funny," Sage grumbled unhappily.

He looked up as a black cloaked figure trotted by him to settle onto the couch in the living room, ignoring both of them completely.

"Now lets get the camera," Sage said, grinning.

The two bolted upstairs and into Rowen and Sage's room.  Grabbing the camera, they immediately scanned the ceiling.  Not seeing their friend there, they frowned in disappointment, looking around the room for Rowen.  Twice now they had found him on the ceiling.  Once he had been taped there quite securely so that no amount of struggling could free him.  Another time they had found him hanging from the center of the room by his ankles with his hands tied behind his back, completely naked.  Spotting him still in the bed, Sage readied the camera.  Kento tossed back the sheets a bit and jumped back a few feet, his grin fading as they didn't see anything wrong with him.  He didn't appear to be glued to the sheets again, nor did he appear to be dressed in Mia's lingerie.  Kento leaned over the bed precariously to get a better look at Rowen's backside, frowning outright when he didn't find the seat of his friend's pants cut out.  That had been an interesting little adventure.  No one had told him what the girl had done, that is no one told him until he was in the same room with Mia.

Looking at Sage and shrugging, the two wandered out of the room thoroughly disappointed.  She hadn't done anything.  What a gyp.

*     *     *

The next morning as Mia and all the Ronins, minus the nocturnal one, sat around the table, a shriek of agony echoed from upstairs.  Kento and Sage glanced at each other, grins materializing on their faces in an instant.  Sage grabbed the camera sitting next to his plate and the race upstairs began.  The girl leapt over the stairs entirely, easily clearing the Ronins to land at the top, darting down the hall without waiting for the others.  As the group piled into Rowen's room, peals of poorly contained laughter echoed down the halls.

"So that's where my hot wax went," Mia gasped, tears streaming from her eyes.

Rowen glared at her testily, not finding this funny in the slightest.  Both of his legs, from ankle to groin, were covered in hot wax.  He had obviously moved the end of one of the cooled strips, a patch of very red skin visible from beneath a loose section of wax.  Ryo leaned on the doorway, laughing so hard that he could no longer force his lungs to draw breath.  He had to duck as Rowen chunked a rather large book in his direction, the projectile missing him and hitting Kento in the head.  Kento blinked, stunned for a moment before moving over to the side of Rowen's bed.

"Don't worry, buddy.  We'll help you out," Kento said quite seriously, his eyes belying his comforting words.  Rowen's eyes widened and he tried to move away, but it was too late to evade Kento's grip.  The ripping of wax was drowned out by an ear-splitting howl that rang through the house.  Many more followed.

*     *     *

The girl was still grinning about her last stunt as she trotted down the streets.  She had rested for two whole weeks now, only breaking her blissful resting by tormenting Strata.  Reaching the proper area in the city, she concentrated carefully, silvery flames flickering about her slender form delicately.  A soft pulsing within the wall before her answered her call.  She placed her hand on the rough bricks, the wall rippling outward from her fingers like the water from a still pond.  Gold flames fought her silver for a moment as she concentrated.  A golden portal appeared before her once again.  A smile broke out on her face.  Torrent had not destroyed the thing completely after all.

She stepped through, trotting down the blackness in absolute silence, looking for the markings in the dirt she had seen upon passing through nearly half a month ago.  Tired of moving so slowly, she dropped to all fours and plunged through the darkness at a speed that few creatures in these tunnels could match.  She wound through the maze at a breakneck speed, rounding corners so suddenly that she wouldn't be able to mount an attack if something was there.  But at these speeds, nothing could attack her either.

Rounding one last corner she found what she had been seeking.  Large paw prints in the dirt led down a small side tunnel, a trail of blood stained into the ground.  A small resonance of the beast lingered in the air from long ago, but the blood was not his.  Grinning, she followed the trail to a dead end, the stones above having caved in, closing off the end of what she knew to be a tunnel that would have ended in about a hundred paces.  Pulling aside stones, she slipped into the narrow opening she had created, spotting a mass of heat in the far corner, glowing to her sensitive eyes.

Ambling over to the creature in the corner, she reached out to lift the beast to her back, nearly losing her fingers to snapping jaws.  Jerking back, she tried again, approaching more cautiously this time.  Nearing the creature, she proffered her hand, ready to leap back if it snapped again, humming softly to soothe the beast.  This was too dangerous an area to raise a shield or form a light.  He shifted slightly at the sound, leaning forward.  She felt a soft movement of air as the beast snuffled her hand.  Grinning triumphantly, she moved slowly to pet the massive head, feeling the silken fur under her fingers.  This was an ancient beast, a servant to the mages long ago.  She eyed the enormous beast appreciatively, imagining how massive it would be if it were not starved.  Standing, it would pass her waist in height and she was far from short.  Leaving her hand on the bony shoulder, she began walking slowly, the beast following her resignedly, utterly defeated.  It nearly broke her heart to see such a great creature with this kind of surpassing intelligence in such pain.

Leading the way slowly down the tunnels, she approached the shining gateway after nearly three hours of walking, carrying the beast for the last two.  He was hurt more severely than she had originally thought, and nearing starvation.  He might have lasted another day or two at the best.

Shifting slightly under the weight across her shoulders, she stepped through the portal, careful not to drop the suddenly squirming beast.  She didn't really blame him.  He must be thoroughly terrified, alone in the dark, starving and surrounded by enemies, too weak to fight any longer.  Stroking the fur comfortingly, she headed back to the house containing the Ronins, the massive beast draped across her shoulders as she loped smoothly down the deserted streets.

*     *     *

The house was in utter chaos as she approached, setting the beast down just inside as she looked at the frantic Ronins.  She trotted over to where they looked prepared to pound anyone and everyone into unidentifiable masses of flesh, plopping into a chair in the center of the bickering Ronins.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Ryo exploded.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Sage added furiously.

"I haven't been.  I couldn't care less," Rowen muttered testily.

"Where did you go?!  Ever since we first saw you, you've never moved more than a few feet from any of us!  Where the hell where you?!" Ryo all but shrieked.

Without even bothering with Cye to get an answer across, she pointed to the beast she had set just inside of the door when she entered, grinning at Ryo's unadulterated shock.  His jaw worked soundlessly for a moment as he stood there stupidly.

"White Blaze!!" He called out, darting over to the half-starved tiger.  The girl's head snapped around to regard him.  He knew the thing?  She had thought that he was merely horrified at the thought of bringing a tiger into the house.  "Where did you find him?" he asked shakily, burying his face in the filthy fur of the unconscious tiger.

For an answer, she moved over to his line of vision and shifted her eyes to a shimmering crimson, ignoring the stinging of the lights to look at him for a moment with her glowing red eyes.

"The tunnels?" he breathed.  "How did he get there?"

She could only shrug, for she honestly didn't know.  The blood trail indicated that he had killed something and had been eating it to keep from starving from where he had holed himself up for protection.  He had obviously been too afraid, or too battered from internal injuries, to venture into the tunnels to find something more to eat.  She told as much to Cye, who relayed the message to the others shakily.

Rowen made a face, obviously feeling bad for snapping at her.  She grinned at his expression, taking a half step in his direction, stopping with a chuckle as he hastily backed away.

A sudden growl caught everyone's attention.  The tiger had awoken to the feeling of hands running through his fur and was now growling ferociously.  Ryo hadn't moved back, but one glance at White Blaze made it perfectly clear to the girl that he should.  Pulling him away and blatantly ignoring his glare in her direction, she regarded the tiger carefully.  Cye darted off with a silent order ringing through his head, returning after a moment with as much meat as he had been able to find in the fridge.  As he approached with the food, the tiger nearly went ballistic, surging to his feet and retreating rapidly.  When Cye paused in confusion, Sage plucked the bowl out of his hand and moved forward slowly, eyeing the tiger with a great deal of respect for the massive claws.  White Blaze made no objection to his approach but continued to eye Ryo and Cye with pure, blatant hatred.  After only a second's debate, Rowen was added to his hit list, receiving a deafening roar.

The girl darted over to the tiger, laying her hands on his back soothingly.  Silvery flames surrounded her.  No injuries or problems were apparent other than starvation.  Lips pursing, she raided the beast's mind, blinking at the images she received.  Looking to Cye, she didn't remember to relay the message through him, seizing his mind again.  Knowing the futility of resisting, he relaxed and hoped he didn't get another migraine from this.

"He's afraid of the three from the Dynasty as he sees it.  He knows it's you, vaguely, but he doesn't understand why you three switched sides.  He can't tell that you haven't…" Cye trailed off, his utter shock breaking the girl's contact with him.

"How can you tell?" Ryo's quavering voice barely reaching the girl's ears.

Turning to the tiger once more, she tried to tell him that it was all right, that the guys were on the same side they had always been.  The massive head turned to her, his strangely intelligent eyes doubting the thoughts she sent him, doubting her every word and action.  Eyes narrowing, she began a game of logic with the cat.  _If I am evil, why did I help you?_  She paused for a response, continuing as the tufted ears perked up slightly as he ate.  _Since you have agreed I am not evil, then why would I be around those who are?_  The complex thought stumped White Blaze for a moment, the shaggy head shaking in confusion.  He couldn't figure that one out.

Still not convinced, the tiger send out waves of confusion and distrust, blinking as she offered to explain anything he wanted to know.  _My eyes, little brother?  They are who I am, just as your claws are a part of you._  White Blaze glanced at Rowen, turning to stare intently at the girl once more.  _No, he hasn't gone mad.  He didn't do that to his legs.  I did._  At the baffled thoughts echoing from the great cat, she chuckled, transmitting her sense of humor across to the cat, the laughing of the Ronins.  Blinking at the onslaught of thoughts flooding his mind, he began again.  _Ryo?  Something in the tunnels did that to him.  He was healed by Sage and myself.  He is still the one you have always known.  Nothing has changed, little one._  Shocked at how he was addressed, he turned his attention to Cye and Rowen.  _Pools, brother.  They were tortured by the Dynasty.  What has been done to them is not their fault.  What wrong have they done to deserve hatred from another?_  Snorting in vexation, he insisted on one more thing.  _The scars on the large one?  _She paused in horror.  How could she explain this to him without losing the tiger's trust in Wildfire?  _He was attacked in the tunnels_, she said, hoping that the tiger wouldn't detect the small lie.

Snorting disdainfully, he edged slowly over to Ryo, ears flattened to his head, growl firmly restrained deep in his throat.  He began to tremble as he neared his master, the smell unhinging what was left of his sanity.  He had been trapped in those infernal caves for longer that he could determine, and he recognized the smells from the tunnels quite well.  He shook forcefully as a hand was placed on his shoulder, trying to hold himself together as Ryo led him outside to wash his matted fur.

*     *     *

The Ronins were so absorbed in White Blaze's return that they didn't notice the girl stagger upstairs where she collapsed in Rowen's bed, panting loudly.  She shouldn't have been running around like that.  The more she moved, the worse the poison tore at her.  Despite Halo's abilities in healing, he wouldn't have noticed the poisons coursing through her veins.  The last two beasts she had fought while saving the tiger were highly venomous, but even if Sage had noticed he wouldn't have been able to do anything.  Talented though he was, he was not strong enough.  She curled up into a ball, eyes glazing slightly.  She recognized the type of venom in her veins, remembering how two others in her group had died of it while travelling the tunnels.  Only her strength and stubbornness had kept her alive thus far.  She cursed feebly.  She knew better than to move after bitten, but her stubborn pride had kept her going, kept her from asking the boys for help.  Vision dimming, she went limp across Strata's bed.

*     *     *

Tired of White Blaze growling at him, Rowen trudged upstairs intent on taking a nap without being disturbed by that black-cloaked menace.  Turning into his room, he nearly had a seizure when he saw that the girl was already there, strewn across his bed.

"Get out of here," he cried in annoyance, prodding the girl with one finger when she didn't respond.  Eyes narrowing in frustration, he pulled her onto the floor by one foot, one eyebrow rising slowly when she slid bonelessly to the floor.  Ready to jump back if she tried to do anything to him, he placed two fingers on the side of her throat, blinking in shock as his fingers met clammy skin, the soft pulse irregular and slowing.

"Shit," he murmured, slipping his arms under her and bolting downstairs with the girl dangling from his arms.

*     *     *

Sage had been trying to convince White Blaze to hold still while they scrubbed him since Kento didn't have much luck in holding him down.  Sage chuckled.  Kento was firmly pinned under the cat, spluttering in the soapy water that splashed onto him when no one paused in scrubbing to get him out from under the great cat.

Rowen darted out of the house, sprinting towards them as they finished rinsing the soap off of White Blaze, nearly losing a leg as the unnerved tiger took a swipe at him.  Ignoring him completely, he turned to Sage.

"Something's wrong with the girl," he cried out softly, grabbing his friend's arm and heading back to the house before Sage could even open his mouth to respond.

Laying his hands on the still form on the couch, Sage's eyes widened in horror.  "Get Cye quickly," he panted, haunted eyes turning to the other Ronin.  Rowen wasn't gone more than a few seconds before he returned with Cye speeding after him, sprinting to keep from being drug by the older boy.  Sage was already surrounded by a soft emerald glow, the girl twitching slightly under his soothing hands.  Without being told, Cye and Rowen placed their hands on Sage's shoulders, Cye crinkling up his face in concentration.  Sea-blue flames surrounded the youngest Ronin, raw energy surging unchecked into Sage, increasing the emerald glow pulsing around his tense frame.  Rowen blinked uncertainly, not sure what he was supposed to do.  Trying to mimic Cye, all Rowen succeeded in doing was giving himself a headache.  Cye's slender hand gripped his shoulder and he spasmed, sapphire flames shooting about him wildly until he remembered to send his energy to Sage.  Sage nodded quickly, the green glow around him becoming blinding.  The girl whimpered, softly at first, before her screams shook the rafters of the house.

*     *     *

Mia peeked into Sage and Rowen's room.  Seeing Rowen sitting sleepily beside the bed, she couldn't help but grin.  She had no idea what had brought this on, but Rowen insisted on being the one to care for the girl, placing her in his bed and watching her every possible moment.  She didn't bother to ask him if she should watch the girl for a little while, knowing that he would only refuse again.  Turning to head for the kitchen she couldn't help but wonder if this was his ploy to get on the girl's good side so she would stop torturing him or if he truly liked her.  Mia's bet was on the former.

Gathering a bowl of food from the kitchen, she ducked into her room to check on White Blaze, the tiger refusing to stay anywhere near Ryo, Cye, or Rowen.  He nuzzled her leg as she bent to pet the massive head, his whiskers tickling her bare skin.  Leaving the room she looked for something to do.  The house was always so quiet when the guys patrolled the empty city.

Hearing a noise downstairs, she went to greet the guys, not even wondering why they would be returning so early in the day.  Turning to the living room, she froze, scream dying in her throat as a sword was pressed firmly to her neck.  Kayura.

*     *     *

White Blaze jumped unsteadily to his feet, sensing that something was terribly wrong.  He paused determinedly to get Rowen, still not trusting him but knowing that he needed the help.  Blinking groggily, Rowen stumbled downstairs after the bony tiger, running one hand through his unruly blue hair.

*     *     *

Mia's eyes watered.  The guys were out, White Blaze and the girl were injured, and Rowen could sleep through a hurricane.

"Where is she?  Where is the girl?" Kayura hissed, pressing the sword tighter to her throat, drawing blood.  She dropped Mia suddenly, spinning to slash out behind her, one sword grazing Rowen's chest to draw a thin line of blood.  He cursed at himself.  He didn't have his armor orb.  Kayura took in his wrinkled shirt and blue jeans with one glance, grinning happily as she saw that he was utterly defenseless.

*     *     *

Cye placed one hand on his chest, frowning worriedly at the sensation that passed through his skin.  It didn't hurt really, more like the half-forgotten memory of pain.  Seeing the others looking at him strangely, he shrugged.

"It's nothing.  Lets keep moving."

The others nodded uncertainly at the confused and slightly worried expression on the youngest Ronin's face.  As they turned down another street, the group stopped, gaping.  It looked exactly like the street they had just left.  They turned again with the same results.  Ryo scowled darkly.

"Dais!  Come out of hiding, you coward!"

Dais appeared up ahead, hanging unconcernedly from a street lamp by his feet.  He began to laugh as the four Ronins called their armor.  "Do you really think that will help you, little Ronins?" he sneered, disappearing once again.

"Snake Fang Strike!"

The blast passed harmlessly around the Ronins as it rolled off of a glittering blue dome surrounding them, Cye leaning forward with his arms extended, panting heavily.  

"Very impressive, Torrent.  But can you block what you cannot see?" Cale taunted as the entire area around them went black.  "SHIT!!!" he shrieked when two sets of glowing red eyes immediately pierced the darkness, staring at him intently.

"Super Wave Smasher!"

"Flare Up Now!"

Cale barely had time to get out of the way of the sure-kills before they obliterated him.  What the hell happened to those two?  Was it one of them who had torn out his throat?  He swallowed nervously.  If Sehkmet hadn't been there to heal him…  He shook his head, not wanting to think of what would have happened.

Dais only blinked at their eyes, snapping out of his shock immediately.  "What will you do, Ronins, missing one of your group and without your girl to protect you?" he called into the darkness encasing the Ronins, grinning maliciously.

A burst of blue flames lit the area, Cye standing in the middle of an inferno of turquoise flames.  He lifted his yari to unleash his sure-kill, cutting off suddenly, gripping his right leg in horror and confusion.  That _hurt_.  He half expected to see blood after what the guys had told him happened after the tunnels, but the pain receded as quickly as it had come.  His eyes widened.

"Rowen and the girl!  They're fighting Kayura!"

"Why do you think that, Ronin?  How do you know they're not already dead by her hand?" Sehkmet called.

"Thunder Bolt Cut!"

Sehkmet staggered, clutching the half-melted flesh of his right side scorched even through his armor, gasping against ribs that must be broken if not shattered.  Spitting a curse at Sage that made even Kento choke from the vulgarity of it, he vanished in a swirl of black flames.

The two remaining Warlords and the four Ronins began unleashing their sure-kills at each other as quickly as was humanly possible, if not more so.  Cye hissed angrily.  This wasn't getting them anywhere.  The other two weren't as stupid as Sehkmet and were unlikely to be hit any time soon.  They were losing time.  Rowen needed them and even if they stopped fighting now, it would take them over an hour to get back to the house.

Screaming in frustration, Cye drew the attention of the Ronins and Warlords alike, everyone thinking that the boy had been hit.

"Allayendis dienden.  Kabadreis neda cumienden.  Allameis cabadros a den ama.  Andien!" Cye howled into the rising winds.  "Exodus!"  The other Ronins only gaped.

A whirlwind of turquoise flames surrounded him, the pavement below him becoming molten, cars and large sections of buildings flying through the air.  Both of the Warlords were enveloped in flames, screaming as they disappeared.  The flames around Cye died as he collapsed to the ground.

Back at the house, the girl sat upright in bed, eyes wide.  "Exodus," she breathed, eyes widening as the aftershock of one of the forbidden spells rang across the dimension.

*     *     *

Rowen cried out in agony as Kayura lunged forward, impaling his right leg on one sword to flip him across the room into the wall.  Mia could only watch in horror as Kayura approached him before his cry had even died in his throat, swing her swords in front of her again.

"Star Storm Scream!"

Rowen howled as the sure-kill rained down upon him and White Blaze, the tiger's scream chasing his in volume and pain.  The sure-kill was abruptly cut off as a shock wave rippled past the house, followed by a blast of dark sapphire light raging wildly around a slender form.  The wounds along Rowen's slender frame closed suddenly, dark blue smoke rising from the deep holes as they healed.  He stood slowly, eyes burning with hatred.

"Ieyenden mieris!" he shrieked, bluish black flames enveloping Kayura's screaming form for an instant before she vanished in a flash of black light.

Staggering to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, the girl could only stare in shock as the second spell from her home to have been used today died out.  How in the hell did they know the spells?  They shouldn't even be able to pronounce these words, let alone know what they meant and what to do with them.  She shook her head slowly at Rowen, wondering how he had uttered the spell for a fireball.  Her eyes positively bulged as he bound Mia and White Blaze with cords of the power he was using and teleported them upstairs.  She suddenly had a feeling that she should leave, get well out of his reach.  She should have followed her instincts.

"Come Mieren," he called softly, making the hairs on the back of her neck rise.  How did he know her name?  Her _original_ name at that?  She had been avoiding anyone finding out who she was for a reason, purposely ignoring all of their questions about her past, her name especially.  Admitting understanding of anything was bad enough, but if she began answering their questions…  She couldn't do that.  They'd inevitably get to the questions that she could not answer if she cared about her health.  She was certain that they would not accept who she was if they knew the full truth about her past.

She regarded Rowen carefully, trying to determine what was wrong with him.  Her eyes widened.  He couldn't have.  Checking him with a quick flash of energy, she cried out in horror.  He had broken the shield holding the Dynasty taint in check.  Lips pursing, she tackled him, pinning him to the ground after a moment, fumbling to put the shield back in place.  The flare of deep blue light was all the warning she had.

She blinked slowly.  Something was pinning her securely to the floor.  Ignoring the sting from the light of the dark blue flames, she forced her eyes to focus, immediately wishing that she hadn't when she saw the cruel sneer on Rowen's face.  She tired to lash out, eyes bulging when her mind slammed into a shield, her magical abilities blocked as surely as her innate.  Rowen lifted her off the ground, brutally throwing her into the easy chair in front of the television.  Before she could even think of moving, thick cords of energy lashed her down beyond any hope of movement.  Her eyes nearly rolled from her head as he casually disintegrated her clothes and proceed to strip himself.

She tried to buck futilely as he ran one hand slowly up the inside of her thigh, a growl rising deep in her throat.  Rowen slipped his arms behind her immobile form, pulling himself close and kissing her deeper than she would have thought possible.  In frustration and fury, she bit him.  Hard.  Her eyes rolled back in her head as Rowen backhanded her with unbelievable force, calmly wiping the blood from his mouth.

Dizzy from the blow and unable to do anything, she waited patiently for either Rowen to snap out of it or for the others to return.  Her eyes narrowed dangerously as she regarded the boy atop of her, trying to ignore the stinging pain when he got carried away a few times and bit her.

*     *     *

Kento supported a halfway conscious Cye in the back seat as they sped down the streets back to Mia's house, setting a speed record in Mia's car.  Cye bolted upright, gasping as a dark bruise appeared across his face, blackening his eye and spreading down to his jaw.  Kento was about to say something when Cye looked at him with utter horror in his eyes.

"What is it?" Sage asked, noticing Cye's expression as well.

"Rowen," he whimpered.  "He's lost it again.  We need to get back.  Now."

"We're going as fast as this car can go," Ryo said helplessly, looking back at Cye's darkening face.

Cye began to convulse, curling into a ball.  Kento reached over to steady him, choking on what he had been about to say when teeth-marks appeared on Cye's cheek.  Blood began to soak through his shirt as well.  Pulling the thin fabric up to his friend's armpits, he stared in shock at the vicious bite-marks appearing on the younger boy's chest.  Sage's eyes widened as he turned to exchange startled expressions with Kento.

"That must be some strange fight," Kento murmured.

Sage didn't bother to respond.  _Kento doesn't get it.  The girl's already lost if this kind of thing is being inflicted on her._  Instead of saying anything to the two in the back, he turned to Ryo.  "We need to go faster."

*     *     *

Cye was the first one out of the car, bolting for the house.  Jumping through the door, he rounded on Rowen.  Unsurprisingly, the other three were right behind him, staring in abhorrence at the scene before them.  Rowen looked up, sneering at them in a loathing at being interrupted.

A dark blue blast shot towards the four Ronins in the doorway.  Cye threw up his hands, the blast curling to the side of the four boys.  Cye returned fire, turquoise flames meeting shaded sapphire.  The two began to circle one another, throwing shots and blasts of power that would have been lethal if any ever actually reached their targets.

Sage darted around the combatants, moving over to the bound girl, her green eyes seething.  He fumbled with the bonds of energy holding her, wondering why she hadn't broken them on her own.  As soon as she was free, she turned to him again, tapping her forehead lightly with two fingers.  Without hesitating, he searched for another two shields holding her mind, shattering them after a few experimental slashes of energy.

She spun to face Rowen, eyes blazing with emerald fire.  Silvery flames surrounded her in an instant, curling where the inferno of energy hit the ceiling.  Her first blast pinned him to the wall, the second cracking him across the face hard enough to make his eyes roll back in his head.  She motioned sharply.  Sage and Cye darted over to her at her blatant command, knowing the drill.  As they set their hands on her shoulders, they nearly collapsed as every bit of energy was tapped from their bodies and very souls.  Emerald and turquoise lights formed above one hand for a moment, immediately being drowned out by the silver essence that was herself.  Sage gaped at the amount of energy she drew from herself, realizing immediately where it came from.  Needing more energy than he and Cye could provide, she had tied her life energy into the blast she was about to unleash.  Before he could open his mouth to protest, she shot the energy at Rowen.

Rowen convulsed on the floor, the dark bluish black flames around him flickering to a lighter blue immediately before dying out.  He stirred slightly, sapphire eyes glazed, pushing himself unsteadily to his feet and regarding the others blankly for a moment before his eyes turned to the girl as she collapsed on the floor.

"Mieren!" he cried out, darting past Cye and Sage to collect the girl in his arms and bolt upstairs.  Cye's eyes tightened, tearing after the two before the others could even blink.  All they found upstairs was Rowen sitting by his bed, oblivious to the fact that he was still quite nude, watching the girl intently from where he had tucked her under thick blankets he had obviously raided from Sage's bed.  Cye moved to pound Rowen into oblivion, but Sage caught his shoulder, healing him quickly before moving to the bed to do the same for the girl, making absolutely sure that she was alright.  He rolled his eyes at the look on Rowen's face, draping a sheet over his catatonic friend and healing him briefly before ushering a protesting Cye out of the room.

*     *     *

It hadn't taken long to figure out why Cye had been in such a fury.  Because of his link with the girl, he had been quite aware of _everything_ that had happened in the house.  It took quite a bit of convincing to calm Cye enough to see reason.

"For the last time, Cye, that wasn't Rowen's fault.  The Dynasty did something to him, or had you forgotten?" Ryo snapped, completely out of patience.

"All I remember is that Kayura had him beaten until some sort of shock wave passed through the house.  Whatever that was, it caused Rowen to lose it again.  It messed up whatever Sage did to him that first time."

Ryo blinked at that.  If that was the case, why didn't it mess him up too?  He was about to look askance at Mia to see if there was something else that might have caused it when Cye spoke up again.

"That's what did it all right.  The Exodus spell is powerful.  It has been forbidden since ancient times because of the devastation it caused.  Only those at the center of the blast are not affected.  You were obviously pretty close to him, Wildfire, or you would have been screwed as well.  I honestly don't know how this idiot learned it."

Every head had long since turned to Cye.  He blinked dizzily, the glazed look in his eyes slowly fading.  His cheeks paled then reddened before he moved his gaze to his lap.  "Sorry," he murmured.

*     *     *

The girl shifted her weight from one stair to the next, her balance nonexistent at the moment.  Reaching the bottom of the stairs, she let out the breath she had been holding and moved into the kitchen unnoticed by the guys.  Mia saw her but remained quiet when she put a finger to her lips.  Sliding along the ground to the table, she deftly snagged Kento's plate, slipping quickly under the table to claim a seat on the other side, grinning happily.  Kento was too busy gaping to attempt to regain his food.

Ryo choked on his drink, coughing some of his juice through his nose, wheezing painfully.  At any other time the guys would have made a few cracks at that, but right now they didn't even notice.  Having lost all of her clothes, the girl had donned a pair of Rowen's boxers and his robe, which wouldn't have been so bad if she had remembered to tie the front of the thing shut.  Raising an eyebrow at their expressions, she pulled the front of the robe closed, tying it swiftly with agile fingers.  Reaching over to Cye, she took his forehead in one of her hands, a soft silvery glow enveloping them both for about a minute.  Grinning, she snagged a knife from the table and shoved it through her hand.

Everyone at the table jumped as she did that, especially Cye.  Mouth twitching with wry humor, she held up his corresponding hand for all to see.  There was nothing wrong with it.  Whatever link had existed between the two had been broken.  Plucking the knife from her palm, she turned to Sage, who immediately healed her lest he suffer her wrath.  He cringed at the very thought.  He knew full well how creative she could get.

Grinning triumphantly, she polished off Kento's dinner, returning his empty plate and earning herself a scowl in the process.  Getting up to replace the dinner he had just lost, he returned with two plates of food, smiling to himself.  He'd get to eat this time, so help him.  His smile vanished when he sat down and the girl confiscated both of his plates of food.

"That's not fair!" he cried out, wrestling with her to get at least one of the plates back to the amusement of the others at the table.  Ryo broke the mood.

"Exactly what is the Exodus spell, Mieren?"

The girl jumped as though struck, abandoning both plates of food to Kento, eyes watering.  She leapt to her feet, preparing to leave when Cye caught her hand.

"It's okay," he said softly.  "You can tell us.  We're all friends here.  Nothing you say will change that."

She chewed her lip uncertainly, looking from him to the others.  Shaking her head softly and pulling her hand free from Cye, she turned to leave, sprinting back up the stairs unsteadily.

"Why did you say that, Cye?" Sage asked slowly.

"I'm not entirely sure.  All I know is that when Ryo asked her what he did, she looked as though she had just lost everyone she had ever cared about.  You saw the expression on her face."  He knew more, but didn't say anything.  When she had first spoken through him, he had had visions, all of which he believed were the girl's memories.  Some of the things she had done… He didn't understand any of her actions himself, yet at the same time he knew them all for necessities.  What Ryo had said had obviously stirred painful memories of her past that she didn't want to face.

*     *     *

The girl staggered back into Rowen's room, collapsing on the bed in tears.  How could they ask her anything?  She had told them all that was safe to tell.  Why wouldn't they just leave her be?  And to address her by that name… She broke down crying anew, her sobs awakening Rowen.

Looking at her trembling form, Rowen winced, misinterpreting the reason she was crying.  Rooting around for her clothes, he cringed again, remembering what he had done with them.  He moved over to his dresser, digging through his junk until he came upon his pocketknife, setting the blade by the girl.  She had been crying so hard that she had given herself the hiccups.  She didn't look up when he sat down on the bed to get a better look at her betrayed expression.  She didn't even seem to notice that he was there.

Pushing the pocketknife towards her until it brushed against her fingers, he sat waiting when she pulled back.  Glancing at him and at the folded blade, she curled her fingers around the knife, eyes widening slightly as he tensed.

_Why isn't she doing anything?  Oh, God, how could I have done that to her?  Dynasty or no, I shouldn't have done that.  I should have fought harder.  I'm sure I could have done… something.  _He paused in his contemplation, regarding her pained face again for a moment._  I don't care what she does with that knife, as long as it makes her feel better.  She can kill me for all I care._

The girl's eyes widened as she heard the thoughts raging through his mind.  He was willing to die to make up for something that wasn't his fault?  She snapped the blade open and held it to his throat.  The muscles through his back became ridged, but he didn't move away.  He was serious!

Snapping the blade shut, she tossed it onto the floor, placing one hand on his shoulder slowly, feeling him flinch slightly.  She put her hand under his chin, forcing him to look at her.

"I'm sorry, Mieren," he whispered, eyes misting.

She flinched at her name.  Rowen sighed at her reaction, shoulders slumping as he dropped his head again.  She blinked slowly.  They merely thought it was her name.  They didn't recognize the significance behind it.  They obviously didn't mean anything by it as had the others from her home who knew what it meant.  The corners of her mouth twitched wryly.  Let the others back home think what they would.  The name given to her at birth was hers once more.

_Rowen._

The thought in his head nearly made him just out of his skin.  He looked at the girl with ever-widening eyes as he realized that the thought had a distinctly feminine cast to it.  A slender hand moved under his chin once more, pulling him close.  He nearly went catatonic as her lips closed over his.  She discarded the robe draped loosely about her shoulders, slipping her arms around him.  He was suddenly quite aware that he wasn't wearing anything more than a sheet, and a thin one at that.  He wasn't wearing it for long.

*     *     *

Knowing that Rowen and Mieren were both in his room, Sage evicted himself to the couch that night.  Even if Rowen was sleeping in the chair beside his bed, his own bed had no sheets, Rowen had seen to that.  Curling up in a spare quilt, he crashed on the couch when they all decided to go to bed much later that night.

*     *     *

Rowen rolled over in his sleep, shifting to lie against the warmth in the bed.  His mind spun groggily.  That wasn't right.  There shouldn't be anything warm in his bed.  A slender arm slipped around his ribs and pulled him close.  Rowen's eyes snapped open as he regarded the lithe girl lying next to him, body brushing against his for their entire lengths, her head tucked neatly under his chin.  He tried not to tense, but his muscles didn't obey him in the slightest.  _How could I have done this again?_

His slight shifting halfway roused the girl, causing her to sigh contentedly and pull him closer with surprising strength.  Automatically, his arms slipped around her, tightening in response.  He blinked at what he was doing.  Looking down at the onyx hair spilling across his shoulder, he decided that she wasn't angry with him.  _How could she be?  She started it this time, not me._  Swallowing nervously, he looked up at the alarm clock, almost choking.  It was nearly nine in the morning.  The guys would be coming in soon to try to wake him up!

As he jerked in horror at the time, Mieren shifted, draping one leg across him.  His cheeks began to burn as he realized that they were both still quite naked.  He looked down to ask her to get dressed before one of the guys came in.  As he craned his head and opened his mouth, she took the motion as an invitation and kissed him as thoroughly as he had ever been kissed.  Rowen's eyes drifted shut contentedly and he relaxed in Mieren's arms.  They both became occupied quite quickly, forgetting the time flashing on the alarm clock by the end of the bed.

*     *     *

Cye turned down the hall at the end of the stairs, grumbling to himself about the injustice of being the one to have to wake up Rowen.  He remembered the bruises he had gotten the last time he had had to wake up his friend, before the girl had arrived.  That thought brought a new scowl to his face as he remembered what Rowen had done to that girl, and indirectly to him.  He opened the door to Rowen's room, freezing at the sight before him, jaw hanging slack.  Rowen and the girl were… again.

Eyes blazing, he gathered his energies to blast Rowen into an unidentifiable mass of burnt flesh.  He never got the chance.  The girl looked up at him, scowling darkly before launching Rowen's alarm clock at his head.  Taking the hint, he backed out into the hall, bumping into Sage.

"You still in one piece?" Sage asked, looking at Cye's incredulous expression.

"Sage," he began, pausing to look meaningfully at his friend.  "Get the camera.  I'll get the guys."

Sage only looked at him in shock for a moment before a disbelieving grin broke out on his face and he raced to Ryo's room to find the camera they had been hiding from Rowen.  Cye darted downstairs.

Within a matter of seconds, all of the Ronins, with the notable exception of Rowen, were gathered outside the door to Sage and Rowen's room, grinning idiotically.  Throwing the door open, they all peeked in, Sage snapping several pictures of Rowen's mortified expression, hooting merrily.  Eyes darkening, Rowen began to tremble in a righteous fury, looking quite comical with his face matching Ryo's yoroi.  Mieren's expression matched his perfectly.  Blue and silver flames burst out around the two, sending the four boys in the door running for their lives.

"You are going to help me get them for that, right?" Rowen asked softly, looking at the girl still curled up contentedly in his arms.  Her malicious smile answered for her.

TBC…

Evil computer still taunts me, but I'm working on it.  Sooner or later it will have to cooperate or I'll reformat the stupid thing again.  Show me you love me for my efforts against the evil machine.  R&R.


	4. Part 4

Midnight Shadows

Part 4

By Mieren

Back at the table, the four Ronins discussed idly what Mieren was going to do to them, taunting one another with who was going to suffer the worst of her wrath this time.  Mia looked up from cooking, eyes narrowing.

"You really shouldn't have walked in on them like that," she muttered.  "Whatever she does to you four, you more than deserve."

Kento leaned over to slug Cye in the arm, smacking Sage on the back of the head in his follow-through.  Cye looked at him innocently while Sage snickered evilly.  The four nearly choked as Mieren came into the room, smiling sweetly and not wearing a single stitch of clothing.  Raising her arms, she sent a single silver blast into each of them, grinning as she left.

Sage stared at his arm where the blast had hit, brow furrowing in confusion.  "That didn't hurt," he murmured.  "What do you think she did?"

"Who knows," Kento said, equally baffled, "but as long as it didn't hurt…"

They both broke off as Cye let out a mortified shriek and dashed from the room.  After a moment, Ryo followed him to see what was wrong.  His own scream of horror rang through the house as the last echoes of Cye's died out.  Kento and Sage exchanged incredulous expressions before they darted into the living room to see what had unnerved the other two, Mia following on their heels.

Ryo and Cye had both fainted and were sprawled across the floor.  Sage darted over to Ryo, feeling for a pulse.  He dropped his head to Ryo's chest, listening to his breathing for an instant before jumping back, trying futilely to stifle the shriek rising in his own throat.

"Is he okay?" Kento asked concernedly.

Sage nodded numbly, trying to keep from fainting himself.  Stumbling over to the other boy, he grabbed his shoulder for support, trembling violently and completely incapable of speech.  _How could she?!?_

Kento didn't know what had unnerved him so completely, but rather than let his twitching friend drop to the ground, he slid his arm around him, freezing at what his hand contacted.  His jaw began to quiver as he turned to Mia, confusion sketched across her face.  He fainted.  Sage only swayed on his feet for a moment before following suit.

It only took Mia a moment of inspecting the guys to figure out what had happened, sending her sprawling to the floor, gasping for breath between her fits of laugher.  She had to give the girl credit for vengeful imagination.

*     *     *

Rowen walked downstairs, blinking drearily.  Seeing the kitchen empty, he ventured into the living room, gaping when he saw the guys sprawled across the floor and Mia hiccuping with laughter while vainly trying to draw breath.

"What's going on?" he mumbled, sending Mia into a fit of choking laughter, tears streaming down her face.  She waved him over to Sage, her face purpling as she remained unable to draw breath.  Frowning at her in bafflement, he moved over to where Sage was sprawled.  He was about to roll his friend onto his back when a sharp whistle caught his attention.  Rowen turned to see the girl leaning against the wall, idly swinging the Polaroid camera in one hand before tossing it across the room, sending Mia into convulsions.  Twitching the edge of her shirt, she snickered and stumbled out of the room before vanishing from his sight, amused chuckles echoing back to him.  Watching her leave in bewilderment, he took the hint and pulled Sage's shirt up to his neck.

"Oh my," he murmured, grin splitting his face almost in two.  Without hesitation, he snapped a picture of Sage before moving on to each of the others, clicking away merrily.  "She is creative, I'll give her that," he chortled, sending Mia into another fit of giggles.  He was about to head back to his room to hide his precious photos when Mieren arrived at the bottom of the stairs, tossing an armload of Mia's lingerie at him.  Mia fell off of the couch where she had so recently claimed a seat, gasping for breath.

"Well, if they're going to be girls, they ought to dress the part," Rowen choked out, beginning work with his camera in hand.

*     *     *

_I don't care how hard Mia was laughing, this is NOT funny_, Sage grumped, looking dejectedly into the full-length mirror in the bathroom.  _I've never dated anyone with this kind of figure.  I'm gonna kill her._

Sage ran his hands through his hair, mouth tightening.  Letting his hair hang loose was not helping his appearance any at the moment.  Donning a baggy shirt and tying his hair at the base of his neck, he inspected his appearance.  There wasn't much improvement.  Mieren's little stunt was too obvious.  Most women could never hope to achieve figures like this.  What was even worse, his camera was missing and he had a pretty good idea where it went.  Waking up in such apparel…  _So help me God, I'm gonna kill both of them._

Knowing that everyone else had suffered the same fate wasn't much comfort.  Sighing forlornly, he headed to the kitchen.  He had to go out there to eat eventually.  He had been hiding out for two days now, after all.  Peeking into the room timidly, he heaved a sigh of relief to find it empty.  He didn't think that he could take much more snickering.

*click*

Sage froze, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head.  He glanced over his shoulder, groaning at the sight of Rowen in the doorway fingering a Polaroid happily.

"I surrender already," Sage wailed helplessly.  "I'm sorry!"  He groaned again when Rowen only raised one eyebrow at him, lips quivering with unimpaired mirth.

Mia walked in carrying White Blaze's empty food bowl, eyebrows shooting towards her hairline at finding Sage in the kitchen.  Her lips twitched.  Sage growled, and spun to leave the room, face burning.  He nearly trampled Ryo in the hall as he darted towards his hiding place.  Ryo caught him on the way by.

"Who all's down there?"

"Mia and Rowen."

"Where's Mieren?  I'm going to try to reason with her.  Rowen won't even listen."

"You think talking to her is going to do any good?  She's the one who did this in the first place," Sage cried out in frustration.

Ryo's lips compressed into a thin line.  He folded his arms across his chest for a moment before immediately dropping them again as his face began to burn.  Making a point not to look in Sage's direction, he started for Rowen's room.  Sage sighed in resignation and followed.

Walking into his room, Sage twitched as he saw Mieren sprawled across his bed, Ryo stumbling at her scandalized expression.  Setting his shoulders, Ryo started.

"We're sorry," he mumbled, face reddening further.  "We shouldn't have… ah well… bothered you while you were… uh… busy.  Could you let up now?"

The girl had been watching him intently during the entire apology, chin resting comfortably in her hands.  Her eyes widened slightly at his request, her lips twitching.  Motioning for them to stay there, she walked calmly out of the room, chuckles drifting down the hall.

"I don't like this," Sage muttered, glancing at Ryo's worried expression.

The girl darted in abruptly, camera dangling from one hand, and pushed the two side by side next to the bed.

"I guess one more picture won't kill us," Ryo grumbled, ignoring Sage's glare.

Moving forward suddenly, Mieren pushed both of them onto the bed, Ryo landing heavily on Sage, and immediately snapped a picture.  Sage's cheeks heated when he realized what this must look like.  Ryo's face reddened for a mere instant.  His virtue kanji flared on his forehead, bathing the room in a fierce red glow.  A feral growl escaped from somewhere in the back of his throat, his hands clamping onto Sage's shoulders as he levered himself upwards, eyes shining crimson.  Time seemed to freeze as he spun on the balls of his feet, hair growing wild as he launched himself towards the girl, claws extended.  Mieren's eyes bulged, her mouth hanging limp for a moment before she snagged him out of the air and tossed him smoothly across the room into the wall.  He spun to land on his feet, whirling to face the girl again, lips peeling away from wicked fangs in a long wolf-like muzzle.  Heavy fur sprouted from his bare arms as the joints in his legs rearranged themselves, his back bulging strangely.  Sage cried out in horror as leathery wings sprouted from Ryo's back, unfurling wildly.  A bone-chilling howl rang through the house as Ryo launched himself across the room at his target, oblivious to everything past shredding the girl in front of him.  He pinned her to the ground, talons sinking into her shoulders, maw moving towards her throat for a moment before he caught himself.  Mieren was too busy staring in fascination and… satisfaction?… to put up a struggle.  He backed away slowly, casting a hesitant glance in Sage's direction only to find that his friend was not there.  His absence was solved after a few seconds when five people and one tiger appeared in the doorway.  He shifted uncomfortably, wishing desperately that he could hide.

"Ryo…" Mia's horrified whisper barely reached his ears.

He glanced around wildly, looking for somewhere, anywhere, where he could escape their fearful eyes.  His search was cut short as a set of slender hands seized his head forcefully, pulling his gaze towards an inferno of silvery flames.  Something inside of him snapped, his muscles becoming watery.  He slid to the floor bonelessly, his consciousness escaping him.  His last thought was, _I'll kill them if they get a picture of me in the nude like this._

*     *     *

Mieren's mouth curved into a semblance of a grin as she eyed Ryo's still form on the floor of Rowen and Sage's room.  She looked up triumphantly to meet the appalled faces watching her closely from the doorway, her grin widening.  A silvery whirlwind of flames enveloped three of the four Ronins, eliminating all evidence of the prank she had pulled on them a few days ago.  They were so consumed in staring at Ryo's still form that it took a moment for it to register what she had done, or rather, undone.

Mia moved over to Ryo, bushing a stray lock of hair out of his face, her eyes stinging with tears.  As she looked up, moisture spilled across her cheeks.

"What happened?"  Her quavering voice was met with total silence for a moment.

"I pushed him a little too far," Cye's quiet response split the utter stillness in the room, his eyes beyond glazed.  "He instinctively reached out to anything he could use to lash out at me and contacted a ready source of power, though one which he was unprepared to use.  I was beginning to wonder how long it would take him to break the shield I placed on him…"

Mieren was cut off as Kento hauled her into the air by her throat, shaking her violently.  "You _knew_ that this would happen and you didn't even tell him?"

"What the hell do you mean '_powers_'?!" Sage hissed, sliding in a blow of his own, ignoring the grin she tossed in his direction.

"Temper, temper, Halo," Cye's voice chided.  A blast of silvery flames surrounded her from where she hung, sending Sage into a blind fury.  He swung at her again, eyes widening as his fist passed through her translucent form, bringing a wider grin to her face.  He continued to stare at her for a moment in utter incomprehension before she vanished in a flash of light, her laughter echoing through the house.

*     *     *

Ryo opened his eyes groggily to find Kento hovering about his room, guarding him no less.  His eyes tightened.  Unconscious or not, he had clearly heard everything that had gone on after he had dropped to the floor.  Kento had been furious, his slow and easy-going manner vanishing in a murderous frenzy that made Sage's temper look like a joke.  He had never seen his friend this angry before.

He waited for Kento to settle into a chair, sliding out of his bed and slipping out of the window while he wasn't looking.  _Some guard_, the thought practically dripped with sarcasm.  Dropping easily to the ground, he peeked into the nearest window, blinking at the rampaging argument inside.  As far as her health was concerned, it was probably best that the girl get out of the house before Kento realized he was gone and came downstairs.  He was about to go inside and attempt to calm the fighting at least a little, but changed his mind when Mieren's head snapped up, her eyes glazing slightly.  A flash of light that left after-images burned in his vision enveloped the house, blinding Ryo completely.  Knuckling his eyes roughly, he squinted vainly, yelping angrily when his feet were knocked out from beneath him.  He glared balefully at the onyx-haired figure hovering over him, grinning happily.  His irritation was forgotten when he saw that they were in the middle of the woods, at least a mile from Mia's house.  _So it was her_, he thought numbly, remembering the last flash of light that had saved him from the Warlords that day when the others had been captured.

"What good will this do?  You know that you can't say anything without Cye."

_You think so, Wildfire.  There is much you have yet to learn._

Ryo positively gaped.  "When did you learn to do that?"

_Quite a while ago, little brother.  I only use Torrent when I want to speak aloud.  This method works well enough if whomever you're talking to is paying attention, it just takes a bit more energy than I usually care to expend.  Speaking through someone is much easier on myself, but harder on the other person, especially the first time.  If I hadn't been as careful as I was, I could have snapped his mind completely.  I use Torrent now because initial contact has been made, so it's easier on me and merely annoying to him.  I could send thoughts and just have him relay the messages, but the receiver has to be paying attention for that to work._  She grinned cheerfully, plopping down on the grass beside him, earning herself an incredulous stare.  _Now, you obviously wanted something or you wouldn't have been sneaking around, avoiding your friends._

Ryo's mouth tightened in irritation.  "Well… its just that…" he stammered, not sure how to ask what he wanted to know.  He was answered with an amused snicker.

_Very descriptive_, she chuckled, eyes shining with unconcealed mirth.  _Yes, yes, I know what you want.  This will take time, you must realize.  Until this is taken care of, I suggest you call off your friends before they skin me alive and leave me to the vultures, or even worse, to Hardrock._

Ryo nodded slowly, sitting silently while his mind absorbed every thought she felt suitable to pass on to him.  He grew increasingly frustrated when he found that what she knew wasn't doing him any good.  Hoping that something useful would come up sooner or later, he listened patiently.

*     *     *

Ryo returned to the house sometime later, leaving the girl to meditate in the woods while he calmed the chaos that would be raging through the house by now.  He stepped inside, closing his eyes against the onslaught of questions that bombarded him relentlessly.  He rubbed his temples ruefully and immediately found himself being carried to the couch by Kento so that Sage could examine him more carefully.

"Guys…" he began, only to be cut off again by a barrage of questions.

"Where have you…"

"What did she…"

"Are you sure that you're…"

"What's going…"

"Guys!" he snapped, completely out of patience.  A person could only take so much of that with their sanity intact.  He waited until he was sure that he had their attentions.  He only wanted to say this once.  "Leave Mieren alone.  She's on our side, so quit pestering her," he paused, throwing a meaningful look at Sage and Kento.  "And quit attacking her."

"But Ryo…" the protest started out of four throats immediately, only Rowen remaining silent.  The four paused at his furious glare.  Rowen cleared his throat softly.

"Where is she?"

"Meditating.  She's waiting for me to get you guys to quit bothering her before she comes in."  He waited for all of them to nod acquiescence before continuing.  He was cut off as a flash of light appeared from the kitchen, Mieren trotting into the living room happily.  White Blaze growled menacingly at her.

Dropping to all fours, she slunk towards the tiger slowly, an answering growl rising in her throat.  Eyes blazing, the two tackled each other, legs and hair flying wildly as the two rolled around on the floor.  The two combatants broke apart for a moment, engaging in a furious staring contest before they both darted out of the room in opposite directions.  Mia and the five boys stared after the two in shock and confusion for a moment before all attention was focused on Ryo once more.

"What was that about?"

"I have no idea."

*     *     *

Kento looked around wildly.  The kitchen was empty and he didn't hear anything or see anyone.  He raided the fridge for his typical midnight snack, eyes darting about frantically.  A soft breath was all the warning he had before a massive furry beast jumped him, stealing his sandwich.

"White Blaze!" he wailed, turning to chase the cat down for his food.  He was cut off as a black-cloaked figure darted past him, tackling the tiger to fight for the sandwich.  Kento stared slack-jawed as the two rolled along the floor, hissing and kicking, breaking apart to dash in opposite directions, each with half of his sandwich.  He shook his head, slowly at first, before dashing after the tiger.  He had a better chance of getting his food back from Ryo's pet than from the girl.  Seeing the great cat licking his lips fitfully, he sighed in resignation and headed back to his room, stomach rumbling loudly.  He was going to stave to death at this rate.

*     *     *

Mieren looked around the table carefully.  So far, no one there other than Wildfire and Rowen would even look at her.  Her lips twitched upwards in a semblance of a grin.  Halo and Hardrock were rather fun to watch, both looking as though they would like nothing more than to beat her into a senseless pulp, Hardrock's one eye glinting dangerously.  The grin slid from her face.  If they were mad at her now… She sighed.  They were going to kill her when they found out what she intended.  Wildfire had to step down as leader, and no one in this house was going to like her choice for the replacement.  How could they ever understand that everything she did had a purpose?  How could they possibly accept what she knew was coming?

Staring at the table with teeth clenched and eyes brimming with unshed tears, Mieren failed to notice that the Ronins were looking at her in utter bafflement.  She nearly jumped out of her skin when Rowen placed a hand on her arm.  She grinned at him ruefully before entering her contemplations once more.  Halo was still beyond furious with her, but still not so badly as Hardrock, and those two were the ones she had yet to work with.  Those two were the weakest of the group as things stood now.  It shouldn't be long now.  Everything should be falling into place soon.

*     *     *

Ryo frowned at the girl sitting beside him at breakfast.  He had _never_ seen her show _any_ emotion, and right now it looked as though the girl was on the edge of a nervous breakdown.  He actually had to call her name three times before she snapped out of it and looked up at him.  The conflicting emotions raging across the girl's face nearly snapped Ryo's sanity.  He reached out towards her gingerly, his hand cramping before coming within a foot of her slender arm.  He hissed and darted out of the room, several sets of footsteps following him.  Keeping his back directly towards everyone trailing him, he headed to his room to wait for Mieren.

"Where da hell do ya think you're goin'?!" Kento yelled, jumping in Mieren's way, no doubt.  Ryo opened his mouth to tell Kento to let her by, but snapped his teeth shut when his throat constricted forcefully.  He fell to the floor, trembling violently, stomach knotting painfully.  Gentle hands pulled him upright, soothing his throbbing head and brushing a few wild strands of hair out of his face.

"What's wrong with him?" Rowen's voice drifted softly across the room.  Ryo swore.  Apparently Mieren couldn't get in without everyone else following.  The others were becoming protective to the extremes.

"A gateway opened," Cye murmured, eyes sliding closed.  "Something came through, something I don't recognize.  It is strong.  Its very presence is playing havoc with the shield holding Wildfire in check.  Whatever it is, it has a very large army protecting it.  Not the mewling husk soldiers you're used to, either.  Kayura and three Warlords are there with a rather formidable army building.  This needs to be stopped now if any of us would like to see tomorrow's sunrise."

"What about Ryo?" Sage asked slowly, eyes wide.

"Wildfire is coming too.  I have steadied the shield holding him, so there shouldn't be a problem.  I want the five of you to stay together no matter what you see, no matter what happens.  If you are separated, you have as good as lost.  I will hear no objections.  Follow me, we're going.  Now."  Cye blinked uncertainly when her speech finished, looking to the others.

Ryo levered himself to his feet, ignoring the hands that tried to steady him.  He looked up, cold fury flashing in his eyes.  "Armor up," he snapped, heading for the front door with Mieren shadowing him, the others following more slowly.

*     *     *

Mieren darted through the streets, not bothering to look back to see if the five Ronins still followed her.  She had set a swift pace, but one she knew they were capable of maintaining, heading unerringly towards the gateway rising high above the buildings surrounding it.  Slinking around the last bend, she remained hidden in the shadows, motioning for the others to stay back for a moment as she surveyed the force gathered.  Her hand slid under her shirt, pulling a thick blade from one of a number of hidden sheathes under her billowing clothes.  In one sharp movement her hand flew back and snapped forward, sending her blade streaking through the air silently.  A shadowed figure tumbled from the sky, falling limply through the air to strike the ground with a tremendous cracking noise as armor met pavement.  The figure on the ground twitched, clutching his throat while making an attempt to rise before vanishing into a black gateway that appeared below him.

The first blade had barely left her fingers before another followed it into the group massing before her, sinking into an enormous bulk stirring in the shadows.  Golden eyes set deeply within a heavily scaled and ridged head spun to face her, head swaying on a long, sinuous neck.  Before any attack could devastate her where she hid, she darted from the shadows, flinging blades wildly from hidden sheathes about her lithe form.

Kayura spun fiercely, ready to level whoever so dared to strike down a Warlord.  She pivoted to lash out with her Starlight Swords, choking on a scream when she saw her opponent.  Cale caught her as she turned to flee.

"What's wrong with you," he growled, shaking her roughly.

Kayura's mouth tightened.  "She's the one who freed the Ronins.  She's the one who just dropped Dais.  She's the leader of those that raided the Dynasty and left it in ruins!" her voice rose to nearly a shriek by the end as she pulled free of Cale's grip.

Cale scowled as Kayura broke away, moving to find somewhere else to be, somewhere where the girl was not.  He turned, preparing to lash out at the girl on the ground below.  He choked on a curse at finding the girl floating on eye level with him, eyes blazing scarlet.

"You…" was all he managed before she lunged at him with a blade, planting it firmly in his thigh when he knocked it away from his chest with his no-dachi.  A booted foot caught him in the side of the head, sending him spiraling to the ground.

Mieren took a deep breath, drawing two wickedly curved scythes from her back.  This was about to get hard, and the Ronins wouldn't be able to help her in this.  She looked back to see the five boys back to back in a tight circle, trying vainly to hold their own against the ebony-skinned warriors surrounding them.  Cye, and eventually Rowen, were surrounded with shimmering flames, sending bolts of power into the dark elves, cutting huge swaths in the endless ranks.  Sure-kills flared brightly among the milling masses, wreaking havoc with the army confronting the Ronins.  Ryo whipped his katanas around to stop the advance of a dark elf that had managed to avoid the devastation of his sure-kill.  Mieren smiled grimly.  They were doing quite well so far, considering the skill of the opponents they faced, but it was about to get much worse.  The Warlords wouldn't allow the slaughter to go on for long.

She spun in the air deftly, diving for the scaled monstrosity moving towards the five boys.  They weren't ready to take on something like that yet.  Her scimitars flared brightly with silver flames as she dove, catching the attention of the beast.  Drawing a deep breath, it unleashed a blast of rolling flames that nearly enveloped the girl as she twisted frantically to the side, flames following her movement.  Crossing her scimitars in front of her, she continued her dive down the center of the blaze, flames parting before her shimmering blades.  The fires ceased a moment before she reached her target, the gargantuan creature spinning with surprising agility to slam its massive tail into her slender form.

Curling into a ball immediately after the blow, Mieren accepted the downward plunge, straightening to add more speed to her descent.  The ground beneath her rippled gently as though it were a still pond disturbed by a slight breeze.  Her lips peeled away from her teeth in a feral smile.

*     *     *

Ryo watched in horror as the fire-breathing monstrosity casually swatted the girl out of the air, sending her careening towards the ground at an unimaginable speed.  How she had gotten above the thing in the first place was beyond him.  He could only watch as she neared the ground, silvery flames encompassing her slender form, and vanished in a burst of silver flames when she should have crashed into the pavement.  He cried out, trying to move through the masses of elves to where she would have been had she hit the pavement.  He was intercepted instantly by a sure-kill.

"Star Storm Scream!"

Ryo lurched wildly to one side, using his katanas to block the worst of Kayura's sure-kill.  The pavement where the girl had landed was empty, save for a few errant wisps of silver fire.  The street in front of the enormous abomination was rippling wildly, rolling off of a rising form like too-thick water, silver flames shining through the mass.  Glowing scimitars leveled slowly in front of the slender figure hovering a few feet above the pavement.  A beam of molten light shot towards the sinuous creature, connecting with the heavily muscled chest.  In the deafening roar that ensued, Ryo saw a no-dachi raised behind the girl by an armored figure.

"Mieren!"

Ryo's scream caused the girl to turn her head for a mere instant, distracting her from the beast she was fighting.  The creature wrenched free of Mieren's blast, leaping towards the girl as Cale slashed at her from behind before wisely darting away from the ensuing chaos.

Mieren's scream rang through the battlefield that had once been a street, startling every warrior into freezing where they stood.  The cry wasn't one of pain.  The girl twisted in the claws of the beast that held her to the ground, an eerie light burning in her eyes as she stared into oblivion.  The twisted monstrosity was flung away from her form as she shifted to her feet, oblivious to the indeterminable weight of the thing atop her.  Her following bellow rang out across the shocked Ronins and dark elves, the cry lowering in octaves until it rivaled that of the creature she had so casually tossed over a hundred feet.  She lunged at Cale, her fingers raking deep trenches in the breastplate of his armor, feet creating large dents in the armor shielding his legs.  Leaping up, hands trailing the Warlord's blood from where her fingers had penetrated armor and flesh alike, she launched herself at Kayura from where she still hovered above the Ronins.  Thick leathery wings sprouted from Mieren's back, pulling her into the air swiftly after her prey.  Kayura shrieked in horror as the girl approached, vanishing in a burst of black flames.  Mieren turned to Sehkmet, who paled under his armor and followed Kayura's example readily.

She dropped to the ground, furling her wings slowly as she regarded the elves edging away from her in terror.  Several gibbered among themselves, the girl's name coming up frequently.  Mieren's face twisted into a dark scowl, her wings opening abruptly, creating a unnerving view for everyone on the streets as the silver flames rose higher around her.  She raised her arms slowly, the ground rumbling slightly for an instant before tendrils of living pavement shot up to ensnare the dark elves.  As the last dark elf was pulled screaming into the earth, she rounded on the Ronins.

_What the hell are you doing, Wildfire?!  I told you to stay together.  And calling my name like that!  How could you?!  I didn't want to be exposed to the Dynasty so soon.  You have no idea what you've just done.  They know me!_  The thoughts forced themselves into the Ronins' minds, their minds putting words to the stark emotions and feelings.  They could only watch the girl in horror and confusion as she spun to leave, wings vanishing in a whirlwind of silvery flames.  Ryo swallowed nervously and motioned for the others to follow as he fell in behind Mieren as she headed back to Mia's.

*     *     *

The guys watched guiltily as Mieren collapsed in the living room, dropping into a meditative position, a faint silver glow shimmering about her still form.

"I'm sorry.  I was only trying to help," Ryo said softly, shoulders slumping when she failed to respond to his apology.

"I don't understand why she didn't just do that in the first place if she could.  Why make us fight like that?" Kento grumbled angrily, his eyes narrowing.

"She said that the Dynasty knew her," Cye mumbled, his soft wards catching the attention of the others.  He shrugged.  "She was probably trying not to draw attention to herself.  If they actually know her, then she might be trying to avoid someone."

"She did know her way around the Dynasty surprisingly well.  She's obviously been there before.  If she's trying to avoid detection, that probably means that she caused some problems the last time she was there."

"You don't know the half of it, Halo," Cye muttered dryly, his eyes glazing.  "Miserable Ronins," he snapped angrily, his clouded eyes narrowing in a cold fury, "do you know what troubles I've been through to get here?  Do you know anything of why I'm here or where I'm from?  I'll tell you, little boys.

"In the war of the sorcerers nearly three thousand years ago, the war of the dark magic forbidden since ancient times, the planet, the very dimension, was nearly destroyed in some of the final battles of power.  It came to pass that the magic would no longer respond in battle, the Guardians shielding the battlefields from the horrors of the arts.  Without such strength at their disposal in open battle, the sorcerers found other ways to battle one another.

"In the final days of the wars, creatures of pure magic were created, creatures with devastating powers and innate abilities.  Being of the magic themselves, the Guardians were unable to hinder their abilities, unable to shield them from using their horrifying powers.  Thus were the demons born into our dimension.  During the wars they had interbred, creating twisted monstrosities with unfathomable powers as their offspring.  Even so, none were so strong as the original.

"In the final battle, the demons nearly split the world with their powers.  The skies darkened and the sun turned cold, and all of the original demons were destroyed by their own powers along with the better part of the world.

"Several years ago, an invading force not known to any living on the restored planet attacked in a fury of power unheard of since the war of the sorcerers.  At first all fought the force together, excluding the demons.  They remained in the shadows.  Hidden.  Silent.  The natives of the planet were winning until one of the peoples turned against them all.  The dark elves, lured by the promises of power and immortality, joined the attacking forces, their vast numbers wreaking havoc on the planet.  As the world began to crumble, the demons joined the war.

"Throughout the battles, no one was safe.  No mercy existed in the eyes of the dark elves as they slaughtered children and the crippled along with the warriors.  The demons turned the war around, their ruthlessness matching that of the dark elves.  A single demon could withstand an entire army if trained properly.  When it seemed that they had been defeated, the invading force once again began to send in soldiers of their own, covered in armor that the elves' arrows and swords could not penetrate.  Thus again were the demons called upon.

"Then came another, a woman with swords that called down the fury of the stars in the heavens upon the defenseless warriors.  Faced with some of the mages wielding the few spells that survived the war of the sorcerers and a handful of demons, the woman with the swords of the stars vanished from the battlefields.  The demons completed their task of demolishing what remained of the invading army and mounted a counterattack of their own.

"Over one hundred of the strongest demons gathered, forcing open a dimensional gateway, and those who had sent the armies were confronted.  The castle was attacked from all sides, entered from a dozen places in an instant.  Bits of conversation were overheard by the attacking force, but nothing from their strange language could be understood, their minds not emitting the proper telepathic signals.  Only one thing became clear to the invading demons; those they fought were currently waging a war with something called Ronin.  And thus the ancient ones gathered a force to enter the tunnels to reach the weakest area in the dimension, the only area where a gateway to the dimension holding the Ronin could be opened undetected with such a small number of demons.  Of the score of demons entering the tunnels, only three had made it to the weakened area in space to open the gate, but none had managed to escape through it.  From the weakened remains of those who still raided the castle, thirteen were chosen to enter the tunnels once more, to go to the force called Ronin, to assist them in any way possible.  Anything fighting the force that had nearly destroyed their dimension had their support, their loyalty.  Anything was to be given to the force known as Ronin to bring about the fall of those who had attacked them.  Yet of those thirteen, but one survived."

Rowen had dropped to the floor in a mixture of horror and fascination as Cye spat out the girl's story, her fiery rage being transmitted through the younger boy.  He looked at the others with wide eyes, his shock mirrored in the eyes of his companions.  Swallowing nervously, he hesitantly asked, "Why pass through the Dynasty in the first place?  Why not just come straight here?"

"Know you nothing of the fourth dimension, Strata?  The dimensions we exist in are of the third, and these dimensions are stacked to create the fourth.  Look at a sheet of paper as the second dimension, boy.  Stack enough of them atop one another, and they create the third dimension.  This is the same concept.  We may be able to smash through the fourth dimension, but to come here directly, we would have to enter at least the fifth.  Even I haven't the strength to do that."

Rowen's eyes were positively bulging by the time Cye finished with the explanation, the younger boy's face showing nothing but pure, unadulterated confusion.  Ryo and Sage were simply gaping.

"The dimension you're from," Rowen began, cutting off at Cye's vexed hiss.

"Listen, Ronins.  Your leader has just exposed my presence here and that may be potentially deadly for all of us.  The Dynasty had no idea that any of us had gotten through until Wildfire called my name," Cye's growling was stopped short as the silver light around Mieren flared for an instant, settling into something very akin to a shield.

Rowen placed his hand hesitantly on Mieren's shoulder, eyes widening when she failed to respond in the slightest.  He sighed.  "I'll go make something to eat."

"No!" Cye yelped, hopping to his feet to dart to the kitchen, blatantly refusing to let Rowen anywhere near the kitchen to do anything other than eat, remembering the concoction that he had served last time.  He wasn't surprised to see Kento pinning Rowen to the floor, obviously unwilling to eat the refuse that the other boy would serve if given half a chance to near the kitchen.

Sage glanced at Ryo, shaking his head wryly.  If Kento hadn't pinned Rowen, he would have had to fight Ryo for the privilege.  Moving over to Mieren, he gently began probing the shield surrounding her, eyebrows creeping towards his hairline as he quickly became lost in the intricacy of the energy patterns.  He blinked in bafflement and started again, fumbling with the gently swirling cords of power surrounding the girl's lithe form with a dim light.  After about a half-hour, he gave up and wandered into the kitchen.  Rowen shook his head and gathered her up in his arms, following the other guys into the kitchen to get a go at the food before Kento.

Rowen placed Mieren in a chair, blinking in confusion as she made no attempt to stay there, sliding bonelessly to the floor.  Rowen settled her back in the chair and brought her a plate of food, chewing his lower lip worriedly when she made no move to eat.  He tried to feed her with the same result.  Kento made a show of guarding his plate closely, watching carefully to see if she rose to the challenge of getting it away from him.  His eyebrows rose when she made no move for his food.

"What's wrong with her?" he muttered.

"I'm not sure," Sage started, brow wrinkling thoughtfully.  "I think that she's trying to guard herself from something, but I can't really see what the shield is doing to know for sure.  Something about that pattern is extremely strange."

"She said the Dynasty knew her," Ryo murmured.  "Maybe she's trying to keep from being detected.  Trying this won't do her much good though.  After all, the Dynasty knows where we are."

"You hear that?" Rowen asked, shaking Mieren's shoulder gently.  His shoulders slumped as she remained oblivious to the world.  Sighing, he lifted her in his arms and headed to his room to lay her down in his bed, his ears burning at the guys' chuckles.

"Taking her to bed?" Sage called slyly, laughing outright as Rowen shifted his burden into one arm to throw a crude gesture over his shoulder.

*     *     *

"Come on, Rowen.  It's been three days.  Three days!  Someone else can watch her for a little while.  Go to sleep," Mia begged, tugging the youth away from the edge of his bed where he had been diligently watching Mieren's unmoving form since getting back from that last battle.  White Blaze growled agreement, nudging the boy with his nose, nearly pushing him out of the chair in the process of trying to get him up.

Mia sighed and shook her head.  They had all been alternately trying to get Mieren up or to get Rowen to move, but so far no one had had any luck in doing either.  After taunting, poking, prodding, shaking, soaking, pounding, kicking, tackling, slapping, throttling and yelling at the two of them, they were just plain out of ideas.  Neither of them responded to anything in the slightest.  The guys had started taking turns watching Rowen, hoping that he would snap out of it.

"Any luck?" Sage asked as he walked into the room, glancing at his friend.

"Not yet, but I think that he's going to pass out if he keeps this up too much longer.  He can't keep this up forever, after all."

Sage sighed.  "Alright.  Go to bed.  I'll watch him for a while."

Mia nodded wearily as she stood to go.  "Remember, Sage, if he snaps out of it, make him eat something."  White Blaze licked Rowen's face sloppily before turning to follow, hoping that the youth would perform one of his little dances of disgust that he typically did when he was slobbered on.

"Sure."

Sage plopped down on his bed, facing his friend wearily.  "You can't keep this up for much longer, Rowen.  Give up now.  Go to bed."  He shook his head, looking at his friend's catatonic form.  Leaning back against the wall, he began to meditate, knowing that Rowen wasn't going to give in any time soon.  _Once Rowen sets his mind to do something, he'll do it if it kills him_, Sage thought, his jaws creaking with a huge yawn.

*     *     *

Sure enough, just past midnight Rowen lost his battle with exhaustion, slumping forward across Mieren's legs from where she leaned against the wall.  Feeling the unmoving weight sprawled across her, she cracked one eye.  Mouth tightening, she reached forward, placing a vicious thump amid the tangled mess of blue hair and was rewarded with a soft snore.  Picking him up by the scruff of his neck, her eyes widened.  He was still asleep!  The corners of Mieren's mouth twitched upwards in the beginning of a smile.  A challenge.

Tossing the limp form into the air, she caught the boy by his robe just before he slammed into the floor, her eyes shining in wry humor.  Swinging him onto the bed, she continued with her torment, intent on waking the youth.  She pulled his robe over his head, chuckling softly when he slid limply out of it, collapsing bonelessly onto the bed.  She placed one slender hand on his chest, feeling the soft rise and fall for a few moments before sliding her hand south, under the boxers.  Rowen sat bolt upright, gasping, his cheeks burning brightly.

_Another victory for the waking force_, Mieren thought merrily, grin widening when Rowen stared at her indignantly.  She snickered softly, encircling the boy in her arms, claiming his mouth with her own.  Rowen gasped and moved backwards quickly, pulling free of her arms.  Mieren blinked in confusion, shifting forward to try a second time, baffled as Rowen again slid out of her reach.  Shaking her head in confusion, she leaned against the wall once more, a silver glow beginning to envelop her.

"Wait!" Rowen hissed, grabbing her arm forcefully.  She looked at him dimly with increasingly clouding eyes, twitching one eyebrow questioningly at his desperate expression.  When he looked down guiltily, her eyes narrowed.

_What is it?  You afraid of sleeping with the enemy?  Or are you just upset because I'm not exactly human?  Perhaps you just don't like me.  Ah well.  You're preferences are your own.  Leave me alone._

Rowen's jaw dropped.  "It's not that!" he whispered frantically, cheeks reddening.  Misinterpreting his blush, she looked around the room, spotting Sage.  Hopping out of bed, she deftly tucked the groggy boy under her arm, blatantly ignoring his questions and protests and throwing him roughly into the hall.  Nodding contently, she plopped down beside Rowen, blinking confusedly when he shook his head.

"It wasn't that either," he murmured, lips twisting into something that was almost a grin.  At her raised eyebrow, he hurried to explain, his cheeks gaining color with every word.  "I just don't want to… to take advantage," he stammered, freezing at the answering fit of laughter.  He barely had time to blink before Mieren did just that.

*     *     *

Sage glared indignantly at the door to his room, pulling himself off of the floor.  _She could have just asked me to leave_, he thought angrily, stomping downstairs knowing that he had just been evicted to the couch.

*     *     *

Rowen awoke abruptly, glaring angrily at Cye from beneath soaking bangs.  Cye grinned happily at him.

"Well, you didn't wake up when I shook you.  Mieren's too busy to get you up at the moment.  We have company, so get your ass dressed and downstairs."

"Company?"  Rowen blinked.  That was impossible.  Everyone had been captured by the Dynasty.  Hadn't they?

"Yea.  One of Mieren's friends."

That was all it took.  Rowen was out of bed, dressed, and downstairs in three seconds flat, bolting out the door as he frantically searched for the others.  Cye came out the door a few seconds later, grinning happily.

"Over there," he said helpfully, motioning to where Mieren appeared to be having a staring contest with the most heavily muscled horse Rowen had ever seen.  Sage, Ryo, Kento and Mia were already out there, standing a short distance away from the two, confusion and curiosity radiating from the small group.

"He just walked up a few minutes ago.  Mieren jumped up from the table and bolted outside, hugging him.  We didn't know what to think until I accidentally overheard some of their conversation.  I only heard what they were saying for a few seconds, but in that time, they told each other about the tunnels in the Dynasty, and what Mieren had been doing the entire time she was here.  It's incredible how quickly they talk," Cye murmured in Rowen's ear, watching the two in utter fascination.  Rowen joined the others silently, chewing his lower lip as he watched Mieren.

*     *     *

Mieren paused in her conversation, looking at the group of Ronins.  She sauntered over, the enormous horse trailing her.  _Are you sure you want to go through with this, Kimen?_ she asked silently, turning back to the great horse.

_Yes.  I knew what had to be done when I offered.  I appreciate your directions when I was travelling the tunnels, by the way.  I will miss you, Mieren.  Heh.  It's still strange calling you that, especially after knowing you by another name all my life.  It's even harder believing you are her._

Mieren grimaced.  _I thank you for your willingness to do this.  You know I wouldn't have asked had it not been necessary.  It's a pity that some of the others didn't make it through.  Ah well.  Nothing can be done for that now.  I will miss you as well._  She stopped in front of the group watching the two of them expectantly.  _He's that one_, she told Kimen softly, pointing at Sage.

*     *     *

The Ronins watched in anticipation as the two neared them, brows furrowing in confusion when she pointed out Sage.  The deep gray stallion walked over to him, raising his head as though greeting an equal before dropping to his knees so that the boy could mount.  Sage blinked in bafflement, seeming almost hesitant to mount the stallion, eyeing the dark gray fur, so dark as to nearly appear black.

Ryo grinned at his friend's expression.  "Never been on a horse before?"

Sage didn't respond.  He only shook his head slowly, eyeing the others for help.  He had to get on.  _It would be rude not to_, he thought, unsure of absolutely everything equine related.

Ryo chuckled, helping his friend to settle onto the back rippling with corded muscles.  "Just hold on," he said helpfully, snickering at Sage's indignant expression.

"Gee, thanks," he muttered.

At those words, the massive stallion leapt to his feet, bolting away from the Ronins to the open grounds of Mia's yard.  Sage yelped in horror, clinging to the thick neck for dear life as the horse's ground-eating strides carried him at a ludicrous speed.  Behind him he heard his friends whooping with laughter.  _They must be rolling on the ground by now.  It is NOT that funny_, he grumped as he tried to find a less precarious perch on the broad back.

The stallion sunk his feet into the damp soil, skidding to a halt almost instantly.  If Sage hadn't been clinging to the neck, he would have been thrown straight into the ground.  As it was he slid up the thick neck, legs dangling on the horse's chest while his entire body was pressed up against the aching neck, gasping numbly.

_Brace yourself_, was the only warning he had.  His head snapped up as he prepared to demand why he hadn't gotten that warning a few seconds ago.  He never got the chance to ask.

His legs and stomach began to burn fiercely, as though just doused with boiling oil, the feeling spreading up to the middle of his back.  He choked on a cry as his clothes vanished in a swirl of shredded fabric.  He managed to wail out pitifully.  Dimly he saw that the others were charging in his direction, covering the distance between them as quickly as was humanly possible.  He knew it wouldn't be fast enough.

Sage looked down numbly, trying futilely to force glazed eyes to focus.  His mind spun in confusion as he realized that the stallion's head was missing and that he was covered in something that looked like thick gray jelly up to his waist.  He couldn't make out his legs at all and it was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.  He swayed unsteadily, blinking fiercely.  Something was holding his arm and yanking powerfully.  He dimly recognized Kento beside him, alternately cursing at the top of his lungs and calling for help.  A particularly strong jerk caused him to cry out in agony.  It felt like he was being pulled in half.  As the world began to spin erratically, his eyes rolled into his head and he collapsed to the blessedly still ground.

*     *     *

Ryo watched, trying hard not to laugh as Sage wailed in horror as the stallion took off, nearly depositing him on the ground.  At the other end of Mia's property, the horse had come to a dead stop, emerald flames enveloping both himself and Sage.  For a moment, Ryo thought that the beast had hurt himself and Sage was trying to heal him.  That notion ended as soon as it came to him as Sage shrieked in agony.

Surprisingly, Kento had kept up with Cye's mad dash, the two reaching Sage at precisely the same moment.  Ryo skidded to a halt a little way from the scene of chaos unfolding in front of him.  Sage sat trembling atop the tall animal while Kento hauled forcefully at his arm, spitting curses that made even Rowen's eyes bulge.  Sage however seemed not to notice, head drooping against his chest as he fought to retain consciousness from atop the headless stallion.  The horse itself was no longer gray, its fur now rippling golden in the morning light.  Ryo's heart nearly stopped when he saw the full extent of what had happened.  Sage had no legs, his torso ending abruptly where the horse's head had been.  He cried out one last time before dropping to the ground.

"My God," Ryo whispered, his throat closing.

Rowen moved forward on unsteady legs, blue flames shooting up around him as he joined Cye.  Deep blue flames flickered wildly as they intermingled with turquoise.  Ryo dropped to his knees beside his friends, placing one trembling hand on Sage's bare shoulder, his eyes watering fitfully.  He shook his head.  There was nothing that Rowen or Cye could do.

"What the hell did you do?!?" Kento shrieked.

Ryo turned numbly to see Kento pounding Mieren into the ground in a blind fury.

"Stop it, Kento," he muttered softly.  "She might be able to do something."  The lie sounded hollow even in his own ears.

"Stop it?  Stop it?  STOP IT?!?" he bellowed, eyes maniacal.  "Don't you realize what she just did?  Look at Sage!  This'll kill him!!!"

"I said stop!" Ryo snapped.  "You saw what she was able to do for me.  She might be able to do the same for Sage."

"Why would she?  She's the one who did it, or she might as well have!  She knew!!  She wanted this to happen!  You saw it yourself!  She pointed out Sage!"

"Stop it, you two!  This isn't helping!" Mia screamed, pushing the two apart before they went for each other's throats.

Ryo opened his mouth to try to respond, the words freezing in his throat.  He nearly jumped out of his skin when Cye placed a hand on his shoulder.  He didn't have to say anything.  The look on his face was enough to tell all of them that neither he nor Rowen had been able to do anything.  Rowen walked up, head hanging on his chest, eyes brimming with unshed tears.  The look on his face nearly pushed Ryo over the edge.  Rowen looked like he had just lost his best friend.  Ryo looked away.  When Sage woke up… Rowen might then.  Sage couldn't handle this.

A soft groan made all of them spin to face Sage.  He was panting softly, clutching his head as though he feared it would split if he released it.  Slow movements spoke of sore muscles and joints that didn't want to move.  Rowen was by his side in an instant, cradling his friend's head in his lap, swallowing awkwardly around the lump in his throat.

"Why?" was all Ryo was able to choke out as he looked to Mieren.  Her response was aimed so that everyone could hear.

_Because he was weak._

Kento battled with himself for a mere instant before tackling her, intent on driving her skull into the ground.  This time Ryo made no move to stop him.  He froze as a soft cry was promptly choked off.  Every head swiveled towards Sage once more.

Sage was on his feet, trembling fiercely as his face became increasingly pale.  He took a step back awkwardly, nearly falling when he was unable to control his legs properly.  He cried out pitifully, spinning clumsily and bolting into the trails in the thick woods behind Mia's house, attaining surprising speed considering that he could barely remain upright.

"Sage!" Ryo called after him futilely.  Cursing, he tore after his friend, growling as he lost ground rapidly.  He was aware of his kanji flaring on his forehead an instant before he was engulfed in crimson flames.  Not really knowing how, or even caring for that matter, he leapt into the air, struggling frantically to gain altitude before he crashed into the trees.

*     *     *

Kento watched numbly as Ryo dashed after Sage, the shield on him shattering as he shifted into a wolf-like form, leaping into the air in a burst of ruby flames, struggling clumsily to figure out how to rise into the air on wings he had never used.  He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks.  That bitch had gotten all of them now.  Cye and Rowen had it easy, merely throwing around strange energies and acting funny.  He was missing the two outermost fingers on his left hand and his right eye.  Now neither Ryo nor Sage was human any longer.  At least Mia had escaped unchanged and intact.

Choking on a cry, he spun and darted for the city, looking for somewhere, anywhere that he could take out his anger in a clean fight.  He heard Mia and Cye calling his name, but paid them no heed.  He changed into his subarmor as he ran, trying to gain more speed.

*     *     *

Sage didn't care where he was going, as long as it was away from his friends' pitying eyes.  He panted wildly through his sobs, pressing for more speed, the muscles through his legs and back burning.  He sank hooves that could not possibly be his own into the ground, skidding to a stop mere feet before a cliff ending below in jagged rocks.  Chest heaving, he collapsed to the ground.  He was this far out already?  He had just gone nearly half a day's hard traveling through fairly straight trails in a little under half an hour.  His eyes misted abruptly.  Would it have been so bad if he had actually gone over the cliff?

He lurched to his feet, eyeing the twelve-story plunge to the rocks below.  He ran a tremulous hand through his hair and craned his neck to look over his shoulder, eyes burning.  A centaur.  How could she have done this to him?  He took a slow step forward.

"Sage!"

The tremulous voice drifted to him.  His head snapped up.  How in the hell could anyone have followed so quickly?  Closing his eyes, Sage launched himself forward, the ground vanishing from beneath him.

The sensation of free falling only lasted for a moment.  Strong arms and legs wrapped around him in an instant and his descent slowed abruptly, downward speed reducing gradually until he was set gently onto the rocks.

"Are you alright?" a voice panted from atop him, trembling slightly.

Sage craned his neck slowly, arching his back to get a better view of the thing on his back.  A black wolf sporting wide bat-like wings studied him carefully with crimson eyes, thick muzzle slightly open as the thing gulped in air.  Sage's mind was too much in shock to recognize what was on top of him and he vaulted forward, depositing the thing on the ground.

"You're welcome," it muttered, looking at him in annoyance.

"What…" Sage began slowly, trailing off when the wolf grinned ruefully.

"Remember what happened in the caves?"

"Oh God, Ryo.  Not again," Sage whispered.

"I kinda did it on purpose this time," he said, eyes locked on the ground.  "I couldn't let you get away.  I was afraid that you'd try something stupid and it appears that I was right."

Sage scowled.  "Leave me alone," he snapped, glancing up the side of the cliff.

"Oh no you don't.  If you think I'm going to let you try that again, you're out of your mind."

Ryo lurched to his feet, intent on pinning Sage to the ground and beating some sense into him if necessary.  He hadn't given up after what had happened to him and he'd be damned if he'd let Sage.  Sage recognized that look, even on a wolf's features, and took a step back.

Sage jerked back, eyes widening as Ryo approached him, cracking his knuckles.  Ryo would have none of it, grabbing his wrist and tugging Sage behind him as he headed back towards the house.

"How in the hell did you do that?" Sage demanded.

Ryo blinked in confusion, preparing to ask what he was talking about when it hit him.  He was walking upright.  He looked at himself in awe.  He had managed to shift back on his own.  He laughed out loud.

"So those lessons _were_ doing something besides boring the piss out of me," he said happily, grinning back at Sage.

"What lessons?"

"I haven't been shielded for some time.  Mieren took the shield off of me quite a while ago and has been trying, without success, to teach me how to handle this on my own.  I haven't been able to manage anything so far except turning into a wolf."

"How?"  The choked voice caused Ryo to pause and turn back to him.

"Uh, I'm not exactly sure.  All I know is that it has something to do with my kanji.  Every time I manage anything, the thing flares up bright enough to blind anything in a three-mile radius."

"But what about…" Sage trailed off, unable to say it.  He didn't need to.  Ryo understood perfectly.

"Uh, my armor still works fine.  You shouldn't have a problem, either," he said, trying to sound confident, but Sage saw through the lie by the slight trembling in his friend's voice.  "Besides, Mieren can shapeshift, I think.  I most definitely can.  You should be able to as well."

Sage closed his eyes, trusting his friend to lead him as he tried to keep from having a nervous breakdown.  He could tell that Ryo was trying frantically to keep him from going into shock.  Despite his efforts, tears slipped down his cheeks, cutting paths in the dust covering his face.  Ryo's grip on his hand tightened slightly, reassuringly.  If nothing else, at least his friends where there for him.  He looked up for a moment, closing his eyes again when he saw the pain and worry painting his friend's face, the trembling of his jaw.  He stumbled slightly on a root protruding from the ground, his eyes snapping open, studying the ground ahead.  He didn't close his eyes again nor did he look up from inspecting the land just ahead of him.  It would be hours before they got back to the house at this rate.  Sensing this, Ryo glanced back at him.

"Race ya?" he asked, trying to smile.

"Like that?" Sage scoffed, taking a pitiful stab at his old sense of humor.  "Like as not, you'll get caught on something and never be able to have kids."

Ryo sniffed loudly, glancing downwards.  He had been trying to ignore the fact that he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing.  "I don't care if you do give new meaning to the phrase 'hung like a horse.'  You're still jealous."

Despite himself, Sage's lips twitched upwards towards something that might have been a smile.  He jerked his hand free, darting in front of Ryo, trying to kick his feet out from under him as he passed.  The wretched attempt at the complicated sidestep tangled Sage's legs and he flipped gracelessly, landing heavily on his side with a grunt.  It had barely registered that he was on the ground before Ryo was pulling him to his feet, eyeing him worriedly.  Something in Sage's face apparently alarmed him, because he took another miserable stab at humor.

"You know, we're both naked in the woods.  Do you have any idea how many bad jokes start like this?"  He snagged Sage's wrist before he could bolt again.  He knew that look quite well.

Ryo studied the ground for a moment as he pulled his friend along behind him.  He didn't really want to do this, but he had to keep Sage from taking off again and this was probably the best way to do it.  He hated deceiving his friends, but saw no other way to do this.

Ryo gasped out loudly, dropping his hold on Sage and curling into a fetal position on the ground.  He was aware of his kanji flaring as he rolled his eyes back into his head.  He let out something very akin to a howl, rolling to his feet to circle his friend.  Sage was plainly panicking.  Ryo snarled, willing his eyes to glow more brightly.  The two stared at each other for a moment before Ryo darted forward, taking a purposefully clumsy snap at Sage's legs.  Sage lashed out blindly, clipping him in the side of the head with a hoof as he circled behind him silently.  Ryo crumpled to the ground, trembling from the blow.

"Ah shit," Sage muttered as he peered down at his friend's still form.  He tried to see how badly Ryo was out of it, but couldn't see that anything was wrong with him aside from the concussion he'd just inflicted.  His eyes narrowed when he realized what Ryo had been doing.  Grumbling loudly, he bent to heal his friend so that he could kill him.  Sage blinked slowly.  He couldn't heal him.  His powers weren't working at the moment.  He hissed in vexation, deciding he was too upset at the moment to concentrate properly.

"Damn it, Ryo," he growled angrily, hauling his friend off the ground and draping him across his back.  "You could have just pulled me along, you know," he muttered in frustration as he began an unsteady gallop back to Mia's.

*     *     *

As Sage first walked into the yard, he was completely unnoticed.  Mia, Rowen, and Cye were gathered around Mieren, yelling and gesturing wildly while she stared at them with a fixed expression.  Her eyes opened further slightly, her mouth curving into a pale shadow of a grin as he approached.  Rowen noticed the faint change in her expression and spun, looking at him with wide eyes and a hesitant smile.  Sage refused to meet their eyes as they approached, Cye lifting Ryo's limp form from his back and lowered him gently to the ground.  Rowen came in right behind him, wrapping his arms tightly around Sage's waist, being unable to reach any higher.  Sage looked down, eyes misting.  They were all treating him different, like it wasn't still him.  He pushed Rowen away with a growl, rounding on Mieren as she drew near.  He hadn't meant to push Rowen hard, but he flew nearly ten feet before hitting the ground and rolled another fifteen before stopping.

Sage moved over to him, baffled that he had thrown his friend so far without even putting any effort into the blow.  Rowen lay on the ground, clutching his leg in trembling hands.  It only took a moment for him to see that his left leg was shattered.  Sage was enveloped by a green glow for a moment.  He gasped loudly, staggering back.  Nothing happened!  He couldn't heal him!  His powers were gone.

Sage launched himself forward, placing all of his momentum into his fist as he decked Mieren, sending her careening through the air over thirty feet before she crashed into the ground, stopping in another five feet as her midsection collided with a tree.  He moved forward to finish what he had just started, fully intending to kill her.  Something grabbed his leg.  He snarled, spinning to face whoever was holding him, blinking as he accidentally clipped Rowen in the ribs with one of his hooves.  He ignored his friend's groan, charging over to where Mieren had landed.

She lay limply on the ground, breathing shallowly.  Face twisting into a snarl, he lashed out with both of his front hooves, preparing to crush her skull where she lay.  He crashed to the ground as her hands snapped up at the last instant, pulling his feet from beneath him.  Sage lashed out wildly as he struggled to regain his feet, all of his blows missing miserably.

_Is that all the better you can do, Halo?_

Eyes blazing, Sage jumped to his feet, backing up a few paces as Mieren rolled gracefully to her feet, a small smile twisting the corners of her mouth.  He moved to punch her again, nearly losing his balance as his hand only contacted air, the slender girl merely swaying slightly to avoid him, his fist passing less than a hairsbreadth from her face.  Eyes widening, he swung again with no better luck in hitting her.

_You should know that you only hit me the first time because I wasn't expecting you to attack me.  Now that I'm paying attention, you'll never be able to so much as touch me unless I allow it.  I've been fighting for much longer than you can imagine._

"And how long is that?" he snapped.

_Since the day I was born._

"And _when_ was that?"

_Know you nothing?  It's not polite to ask a woman her age._

Sage bellowed in a blind fury, lashing out viciously with fists and feet alike, growing increasingly infuriated when he continued to hit nothing.

_You should be careful you know.  You're stronger than you realize.  You might accidentally hurt one of your friends without meaning to.  You could pound on me all day without doing any damage, but I don't think that any of your friends, with perhaps the exception of Wildfire, could stand up to your blows.  And I know that Torrent isn't skilled enough to undo the damage you'd inflict either._

Sage spun to see the truth in her words.  Rowen had pulled himself inch by grueling inch over to where Cye was frantically trying to do something for Ryo.  Unbidden, her words earlier came back to him.  _'Why?' Ryo had asked.  Because he was weak, Mieren had replied coolly_.  Howling in a cold fury, he leapt forward, trying to crush her with his sheer mass.  Mieren merely raised an eyebrow as she sidestepped him, tripping him as he passed.

_Brute strength will only get you so far, and that is absolutely nowhere if your opponent is skilled._  She paused at that, her eyes misting in agony.  Sage spun to lash out again, pausing at the expression on her face.  _Brute strength didn't get me very far, anyway.  He was no more skilled than I, but light help me, I wasn't strong enough._  She reached up, unconsciously clutching her chest right over her heart, eyes misting with some ancient memory.  A soft sob escaped her lips as she spun to walk away, having completely forgotten that he was trying to kill her.  It almost looked as though she didn't care if he attacked her again.

She dropped beside Ryo, a silver light enveloping the both of them for an instant before she turned to Rowen.  In the span of a few seconds, she had restored both of them to perfect health and was walking slowly towards the woods once more, still fingering her sternum and looking into the ground as though it held the explanation to the question that was haunting her.

Sage blinked in confusion and started after her.  Rowen stepped in his way, eyes watering and shoulders shaking, but jaw set in a line that told Sage that his streak of stubbornness was acting up in full force.

"Sage, don't," he said firmly, blazing eyes belying his apparent terror.

He didn't bother to respond, merely swatting his friend out of the way, gently this time lest he hurt him again.  This time, Rowen was only knocked roughly off his feet, sprawling through the grass a few feet before jumping up, glaring.  Sage was already far into the trees, following Mieren intently.

He found her leaning against an enormous oak, head hanging limply against her chest, shoulders shaking slightly. He looked behind him to make sure he hadn't been followed, sighing in relief when he saw that no one was there.  He walked in front of her silently, giving a small start when he saw blood streaming from her eyes freely, crimson tears streaking her face.  Her head snapped up as he approached, lips peeling away from her teeth as her eyes narrowed venomously.  Sage swallowed and took a step back, the look in her eyes terrifying him.  That the irises of her eyes had reddened was no surprise since she did that quite often, but for the whites of her eyes and pupils to be the same blood red…

With a wordless roar, she tackled him, talons tearing deep trenches in his sides, razor-like teeth sinking into his neck.  Sage tried to cry out but only succeeded in a wordless gurgle, blood streaming his mouth as well as from several dozen sets of gashes covering him.  With his last reserves of strength, he pushed her away from him and struggled to his feet, moving away from her frantically.  Mieren simply rolled to her feet almost bonelessly, circling him with a deadly grace.

"Mieren," he gasped, unable to force any other words past his mangled throat.

She froze at the sound of her name, the ruby in her eyes receding to her irises once more, but only for an instant.  She lowered herself to all fours, back arching in an impossible position.  Her skin rippled, heavy scales and ridges appearing rapidly, darkening her skin to match her onyx hair for a moment before her hair shimmered, framing her thick maw with a snowy mane as black flames rose around her wildly.  She straightened for a mere moment before charging, her shoulder almost reaching his own in her dragon form.

She pinned him to the ground once more, long fangs sinking into his already mangled throat.  Sage felt her back tighten and he closed his eyes, knowing that in a moment she would pull back, taking his throat with her.  The fangs untangled themselves from his throat, and she moved away from him.  Eyes watering, she pulled herself to her feet, silvery flames licking her serpentine form.  She chanted for a mere moment, hurling a ball of silvery fire at him before darting deeper into the woods.

Sage watched her go, pulling air into burning lungs.  He raised one hand to his neck, trembling when his fingers met unbroken skin.  Rising slowly, he began to follow Mieren determinedly.  He would have answers if it killed him.

He happened upon her in a clearing, leaning against a large tree with her knees drawn tightly to her chest, tears streaming freely down her face, cutting trenches through the blood coating her.

"Why?" he asked softly, repeating Ryo's question.

_Because you were weak._

Sage ground his teeth.  "And what does that have to do with anything?"

_You have no idea what you're up against.  You were too weak to have survived the last battle and likely unable to have even lived to have seen it.  I could not stand to watch you die, little brother._  She hiccuped softly, burying her head in her arms and turning away from him.

Growling softly, Sage leaned to grasp her shoulder firmly, pulling her to her feet.  She pushed away from him in irritation, turning to leave again.  When he tried to stop her from going, she snarled angrily.

_Such chances you take, Halo.  Leave me be!  You don't know what you're dealing with in me or in your opponent._

"Then tell me," he snapped.

_You ask for knowledge that has haunted me my entire life.  So be it, Halo, but remember that you asked._

Sage's brow furrowed as she leapt forward, clamping her hand firmly on his forehead.  His throat constricted and guts knotted as images began flowing into his mind, things that threatened to shred what was left of his sanity.  He fell to the ground writhing as the images and feelings overwhelmed him.

_A group of nearly a hundred ancient men were gathered around a large stone protruding from the earth, chanting in a language that escaped him.  The fiery glows surrounding each of the men gathered above the boulder, condensing into molten light that writhed and began to take shape.  The outer layer of light shimmered and shifted as something within tried to escape, pushing at the glowing layer of light.  A small black dragon fell from the light, unfurling shrunken wings awkwardly as it tried to rise on unsteady legs.  The smooth hide shimmered in the dim evening light, appearing almost silky with the rippling shadows that passed along it as the corded muscles shifted._

_"Arise, little servant, to do our bidding."_

_The tiny dragon levered itself onto its hind legs clumsily, skin lightening into a pale creamy color as raven locks fell around a delicate face.  A slender, almost undernourished, girl looked to the men surrounding her, the deep jade eyes shining softly in the dimming light._

_"Go to battle, Mieren.  Destroy the Clan of the Starlight and their new warrior."_

_The girl nodded quickly, eyes shifting to a deep crimson as she darted out of the clearing, no irises or pupils present, only the shining red.  She slid deftly through the darkness, running at a speed that was unmatched in the dimension and heading unerringly towards the Clan of the Starlight.  Breaking into a large clearing, she launched herself forward, tearing out the throat of the nearest man with her teeth, ignoring him as he fell to move on to the next.  She paid no heed to swirling mass of black light gathered above an enormous slab of stone as she darted about through the gathered men, wreaking havoc with her hands alone.  Several gateways winked in and out of existence as some of the sorcerers retreated from the ensuing massacre._

_The swirling mass of darkness burst open, a heavily muscled man stepping out, snowy hair falling about his shoulders.  Two sets of crimson eyes locked.  The tall man tackled the slender girl, the two rolling on the ground in a whirlwind of fists, feet, talons, and teeth.  Onyx hair contrasted fiercely with shimmering white.  The two combatants broke apart, circling each other with sure, deadly movements.  Bars of light, impossibly bright blasts of energy, surged through the oncoming night, obliterating the darkness for miles around._

_Standing some distance from each other, they both began to chant fiercely, a sickly gray light surrounding the girl and the deepest black around the muscular man.  Errant cracks of energy rained from the sky as the sheer amount of energy being gathered began to vaporize the surrounding land.  The girl threw her hands into the air, her chanting cries reaching a climax.  A bar of pure energy shot down from the sky, striking the girl as an identical blast flashed towards the man.  He narrowed his eyes contemptuously, blocking almost in irritation, the energy rolling away from a shimmering black dome._

_Mieren screamed as his blast enveloped her, her ivory skin sliding from her bones as it darkened abruptly.  She spat out a few more words, throwing another blast at the smirking man who was still blocking the girl's spell as her first continued to rain down on him.  His eyes widened as the girl's second blast shot straight through his shield and slammed into him.  He laughed haughtily as the blast barely left a darkened patch on his skin.  The original blasts faded, leaving Mieren sprawled across the ground as her opponent approached, a sword of black fire appearing in his hands._

_"You lose," Mieren spat darkly, eyes shimmering in defiance._

_"Did the blast incinerate your wits, girl?"_

_"You can only block a single spell at a time.  You were hit by my second spell, were you not?  You lose."_

_The black sword leveled with the girl, creating a deep trench in her back, bone showing in several places.  She hissed, eyes trembling._

_"PHLOGISTON!" Mieren screamed the last word to her spell, the small burnt patch on the man igniting and enveloping him in dark gray flames.  The colors in his body seemed to reverse, his hair shifting black and his red eyes simmering to green an instant before he vanished._

_Mieren went limp against the molten ground, not having the strength to pull away as what little of her flesh that remained smoldered.  Her right arm ventured forward slowly, fingers sinking into the burning ground as she pulled herself forward gingerly.  The muscles in her arm quivered and tore as she strained the liquefied tendons, flesh pulling away from her arm from the strain, exposing the bone.  The sun was already sinking into another night by the time she pulled herself to a gathering of men awaiting her return in a small shack hidden deep in the woods.  She collapsed wearily just inside the door, her breath rasping in her throat._

_"So the warrior returns."_

_"She has failed in her mission; the warrior of the Clan of the Starlight still lives."_

_"Rise, Mieren."_

_The girl looked up at them pitifully, struggling to her feet slowly, the muscles through her legs falling free of the bone as she forced them to support her weight._

_"You didn't return at the appointed time."_

_"You didn't complete your mission."_

_"You and Starlight warrior destroyed much of the world."_

_"You failed to destroy all of the Sorcerers of the Starlight."_

_"You are weak and therefore useless to us."_

_Mieren's eyes had begun to water with the first accusation.  At the last phrase directed at her, she froze in horror, gaze slowly drifting downwards to rest on the sword protruding from her chest, blade gleaming wetly.  Her arms twisted miserably behind her, reaching for the hilt resting against her back.  A dribble of blood escaped her mouth, adding to the pool of blood staining the floor, running in a crimson river across the smooth wood at her feet.  Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, the sword ripping free of her body as the sorcerer maintained his grip on the hilt._

_Mieren cried out softly, straining to pull herself back into the woods.  The bloodstained sword lifted into the air, gleaming dully as it began its downward arc.  At the last instant a dull gray dome sprang up around the girl, deflecting the lethal blow into the floor.  The sorcerer scowled and took another swing.  The blade never landed._

_A whirlwind of dark gray flames shot through the room, wisps of black flashing into existence occasionally.  The girl pulled herself to her feet with gruelingly painful movements, chanting wildly in an arcane language._

_"EXODUS!" she shrieked.  The world went white in a conflagration of power._

Sage blinked wildly as the light faded from his mind, his eyes misting with the pain that he had never felt.  His haunted eyes quickly found the girl in the clearing.  He moved over to her slowly, sinking to the ground beside her trembling figure.

_That is your opponent_, she hiccuped loudly, tears streaming from her eyes.  _I couldn't kill him then, I only blasted him into another dimension, the Dynasty.  I couldn't defeat him then, and I can't now.  What chance do you think you stood, Halo?  The five of you together can't even defeat me._

"We did once," he murmured softly, stopping short when she shook her head violently.

_No, Halo.  That first time you saw me, I was severely wounded from traveling the tunnels and trying to remain undetected as I did so.  More than half of the bones in my body were shattered.  The beings in the tunnels are the monstrosities created by my original opponent as he searches for warriors to obliterate both of out dimensions.  He can't seem to get the loyalty spells down though.  Only those beings lacking all magical abilities can be influenced by the pitiful spells he can wield.  I believe that you call them husk soldiers.  With your friends Torrent and Strata, I think he attempted to cast the loyalty spells at the same time he endowed them with the energies of my home realm.  He wasn't expecting me to free them. Oh, light, he knows that I'm here._

"Why did you attack me?"

_My old life haunts me still.  I forget who I am from time to time when I think about my past too much, about who… what… I used to be.  It doesn't help that you look strangely familiar to someone I knew… fought… in the past._

Sage blinked as she broke down again, blood streaming from her eyes as she wept, the force of her crying breaking the capillaries in her eyes.  She clung to him trembling for a moment as the memories washed over her again before she passed out, entering a peaceful, oblivious rest that she desperately needed.

He sighed in resignation, bending down to examine her.  After a moment, he decided that her eyes were fine, but attempted to heal them anyway, unable to get the thought of Ryo's concussion and Rowen's broken leg out of his mind.  Why hadn't he been able to heal them?  An exasperated sigh escaped him when he found that his healing powers were still not working in the slightest.

Sage gathered her in his arms, unsure of what exactly to do with her.  He was still debating on whether or not he was angry enough with her to kill her.  Deciding that he would pound her into an indescribable pulp later, he headed back to Mia's house with the trembling girl cradled in his arms.

TBC…

This is taking me forever to fix.  Ever since reformatting my computer over the X-mas holidays, it's been driving me nuts.  Most of the data files (all Word files) from before the reinstalling of the OS are almost impossible to access.  I'm going to go insane before this starts working again.  Support me in my pitiful efforts and show me you love my first ever fic.  R&R.


	5. Part 5

Midnight Shadows

Part 5

By Mieren

Dais crept down the halls silently.  Talpa was currently looking for someone to attack the Ronins and he had no indention of being the one to do it.  He had seen all to well what that girl had done to Cale's armor.  Hell, Sehkmet had barely been able to heal the two of them.  He fingered his throat in wonder.  He hadn't even felt her presence before she dropped him, and judging by Kayura's evasive behavior, she hadn't gotten off either.  True, she wasn't injured, but that girl had done something so scare the wits out of her.

_Dais!_

He jumped several feet into the air, mentally cursing Talpa's uncanny ability to find him even when he was doing his best to sneak around.

"Yes, Master Talpa?"

_I want you to go to the city.  One of the Ronin whelps is there alone.  Do you think that you can handle that much since you're afraid to attack them when they have a little girl with them?_

"Yes, Master Talpa," he said, cringing.  _'Little girl' my ass_, he grumped.  He waited for Talpa's presence to vanish completely before swearing loudly.  Where there was one Ronin, there was bound to be that blasted girl.

Sighing resignedly, he vanished in a swirl of black flames, reappearing on a rooftop overlooking a nondescript street.  Hardrock was sitting on the curb with his head in his hands, shaking slightly.  The Warrior of Strength… was… _crying_?

He ignored caution and common sense, jumping off the building to land silently on the street behind the Ronin.  Dais blinked as the boy didn't move in the slightest.  Surely he could sense his presence.  He was about to make a snide comment when Kento jumped to his feet, backing up a few paces while throwing a murderous glare at him with one puffy eye.  He raised his hands, preparing to fight.

Dais's jaw dropped.  Since when had Hardrock lost an eye?  Or half of his hand for that matter?  "What the hell happened to you?" was the only thing that he could think of at the moment.  Kento scowled.

"Leave that bitch out of this.  Do you or don't you want to fight?"

"The girl did that to you?!"

"Might as well have," he snapped, launching an attack.  Dais merely sidestepped him, allowing the furious boy to careen by as his mind spun with possibilities.

"How would you like to get revenge for what she did to you?" Dais asked.  As Kento's eyes narrowed, he began guessing and added, "And for what she did to your friends?"

Kento froze, staring at the ground hard, his shoulders slowly tightening until they began to tremble from the strain.

"Don't you want _justice_ for her actions?" he whispered softly, watching the boy's kanji flare brightly, almost blinding in its radiance.  He smiled.

*     *     *

Sage glared at Rowen furiously.  "Are you intending on untying me anytime soon?  You realize that the longer I hang here, the worse you're going to suffer."

Rowen grinned sheepishly.  "You're covered in blood, dust, and only God knows what else.  Cye won't let you back in the house like that and you know it."

Sage writhed again, eyes burning with unconcealed rage as he pulled at his hands bound firmly behind him.  If that hadn't been bad enough, they had tied his feet so he couldn't thrash worth a damn and then hung him from a tree so that Rowen could scrub him.  "This is your own fault," Rowen continued.  "If you had given in when we first tried to hose you down, it wouldn't have come to this."

Sage began to tremble in a righteous fury, his eyes murderous from beneath his dripping bangs.  He knotted all of his muscles furiously, crying out joyously when the ropes snapped and he dropped to the ground.

"Shit," Rowen squeaked, darting for cover.

Sage jumped to his feet, brushing the worst of the mud off of himself with sharp movements, glaring in Rowen's direction before heading for the house.  "I'm taking a shower," he muttered, starting for the front door.  He was intercepted by Cye and Mia.

"You are _not_ coming in the house like that," Cye snapped.

"You will _not_ make a mess in here, I just cleaned the carpet."

"Tough," he muttered, brushing by the two in irritation, fully intent on thrashing Ryo when he found him.  That whole business of binding him and hanging him from the tree had been his idea after all.  As he passed through the living room, he saw the real reason they had been trying so hard to keep him outside.  Mieren was sound asleep on the couch, twisting and muttering in her sleep.  He blinked as the words coming from her mouth.  He knew those words, had heard them in his memories along with the translations she had thrown at him.  He had relayed what she had told him the best he could, but everyone seemed to think he was exaggerating or lying for some reason.

He shook his head darkly and looked around.  Kento still wasn't back.  He was starting to get worried.  It wasn't like him to disappear without a word like this.  Deep in contemplation, he didn't pay attention as he trotted up the stairs, nearly trampling Ryo when he reached the hall.  Ryo squeaked, bolting in the other direction only to land flat on his face when Sage kicked his feet out from under him, not bothering to be gentle about it.

"Show some respect for you leader," Ryo muttered groggily, clutching his head gingerly and fingering his nose to see if it was bleeding.  Sage didn't bother to respond, merely stepping on the prostrate boy as he headed for the bathroom, grinning happily at the answering grunt.

Sage walked into the bathroom, instantly grateful that this house's bathroom had a tub that could hold a half a dozen people comfortably.  Tossing up the curtain, he turned on the water and began the long laborious process of working all of the mud, grass, blood, and grime off of him, performing incredible feats of flexibility in the process.  When he was satisfied that he was finally clean, he filled the tub with steaming water and settled down to soak for awhile.

"Oh man!  How long you gonna be in there?  Other people gotta use the bathroom too, ya know," Ryo griped loudly from just outside the door.  "And since when do you lock the door?"  His complaints cut off abruptly, causing Sage to raise one eyebrow in curiosity.  Normally when he started harping about use of the bathroom, he kept it up until he got a turn.

_Halo._

"Ah shit," Sage muttered, looking fearfully at the door.

_Halo._

"Go away," he snapped angrily.

_Can't go away.  I need to use the bathroom too, you know.  Now._

"I'll be out in a little while," he called frantically, hoping futilely that she wouldn't just come in.  The last time she had wanted use of the bathroom while he was soaking, she had just climbed into the tub with him, trying to get him to scrub her back.

_I said _now_, Halo._

"Just give me a few minutes!"

_Your funeral._

With that, she simply walked in, sliding _through_ the door as though it wasn't there!  Sage's eyes bulged.  How in the hell did she do that?  He didn't get a chance to think about it as a grin appeared on her face.

_A hot bath!  How thoughtful of you,_ she chirped happily, stripping out of her clothes and hopping into the water with him, oblivious to his reddening face.  Sage was out of the tub and into the hall in two seconds flat, several towels in his arms as he bolted to his room.  Ryo's poorly contained peals of laughter followed him down the hall.  He grumbled loudly in his room as he toweled his thick golden fur dry, thinking of horrible things to do to the girl for further humiliating him.  He sighed.  At least Ryo was back to treating him like he always had, poking fun whenever the girl managed to mortify him, which was far too often for his liking.

Shrugging into one of his favorite shirts, he began to work with his hair as much as he was able without all of his necessary implements of destruction.  Scrubbing his hair dry roughly, he tied it at the base of his neck, wishing he had access to his hair gel or at least the blow drier.  Sighing again, he trudged out of the room, hoping that the girl was still occupied with her bath.  Starting down the steps, his eyes widened and he let out a yelp as he lost his balance and slid down the stairs on his stomach.  He blinked in fury, never having realized how hard it was to go _down_ stairs like this.  Pushing Rowen away from him with a growl, he jumped to his feet and stormed towards the kitchen, giving a start when he found that Cye wasn't beating Kento off with a skillet as was the usual.

"Is he still gone?"

"Yea," Cye murmured worriedly.  "He was pretty pissed when he left, but I expected him to cool off and come back a few hours ago.  I've never seen him that ticked though.  I'm starting to wonder if he's hurt.  He's never missed dinner."

"Except when Rowen's cooking," came the dry response.

"Kento!" Cye cried, spinning to face his best friend.

Kento stood in the doorway obvious in his attempt not to look anywhere in Sage's direction.  Sage recognized his expression and moved over to place his hand on his friend's shoulder, trying not to grimace when he noticed that Kento was struggling not to flinch.  Rowen and Ryo darted into the kitchen at the sound of Kento's voice, gathering around the four already there, sliding around Mia to see their friend.

"Where have you been?" Mia asked.

"Just out thinking about a few things," he muttered, settling down at the table and looking quite eager to start eating one of Cye's meals.  Mia and Cye obliged, setting the courses out in front of the near-drooling figure.  Sage eyed the chairs in irritation before just dropping to the floor at his usual place at the table, only having to strain a little to reach everything.  They had just started eating when Mieren sauntered into the room, plopping down at the table between Rowen and Sage.  Kento's eyes tightened and he tensed violently at her appearance, refusing to say anything for the rest of the meal despite the others' attempts to start up a conversation.  Mieren eyed him carefully, for the first time ever not making an attempt to steal his food.

"Hey Kento, what's going on?" Ryo asked slowly as Kento rose from the table.  Kento was _never_ the first to leave a meal.  For his part, he didn't bother to reply, merely walking around the table to crack his fist in the back of Mieren's skull.

Mieren blinked, raising her head from her plate to regard the furious boy.  She casually leaned to the side to avoid his next blow, rising leisurely to head outside as Kento grew increasingly enraged, tearing after her and making several attempts to take her out as he followed.  Stepping outside, Mieren calmly stood in the center of the yard, making no attempt to defend herself as he proceeded to pound her.

"Kento, stop it!" Rowen yelled, trying to restrain his friend.

Kento snarled, knocking him to the ground roughly as he proceeded to thrash Mieren into oblivion.  A soft silver glow enveloped her, but she still refused to lift a hand to defend herself, only occasionally making a pale echo of an effort to dodge him.  She began to chant in a language that the Ronins had only heard snatches of since they had met the strange girl.  Whatever she was saying, she seemed to mean it fervently.  The sky darkened slightly as her chanting reached a climax, a single flash of golden lightning cracking in the distance.  The unnatural darkness vanished from the sky as the pale silver light died around Mieren.  She rose to her feet, swaying visibly for a moment before Kento slammed her into the ground again with considerable force.

"Kento!" Ryo snapped, cutting off as Sage moved around him to restrain his friend, lifting him off the ground by his shoulders and holding him at arm's length.

"What in the _hell_ did you do to Halo?" a horrified voice called from atop the house, causing everyone except Kento to turn sharply.  Mieren's head snapped up so suddenly that it was a wonder that she didn't break her neck in the process.

A howl rang through the air, resounding sharply through the trees, as Mieren leapt into the air, knocking the horrified Warlord from the roof.  Dais thrashed and squawked in her grip, cutting off with a liquid gurgle as she punched through the breastplate of his armor, blood running unchecked down her arm.

"Shit!"  The incredulous cry ended abruptly as Dais was thrown into Cale with tremendous force, both of them vanishing in a violent swirl of black flames.

"Armor of Hardrock!  Dao Gi!"

Mieren landed lightly on the ground only to end up kissing the dirt when Kento slashed at her with the glimmering blade on the end of his tetsubo.

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

"NO!" Rowen screamed.

The light of the sure-kill faded to show the girl lying on the ground, a muscle in her cheek twitching in irritation, Kento pinning her to the ground with the blade of his tetsubo.

"You'll pay for what you've done to all of us, especially Sage."

_I try only to protect you._

"You call this _protecting_?!"

_I try only to make you stronger so you can survive the upcoming battle, brother._

"Brother?  Hmph.  I'm going to make you regret the day you were born."

_That will be hard to do, brother.  I was never born.  I was _created._  And I regretted being created on my second day of life when those I would have called family betrayed and tried to kill me for being weak.  I have no family, and have thus adopted the whole lot of you for my own.  Well, except for Rowen, that wouldn't sound right_, she paused, tossing the furious boy a sad smile._  Without you, we've lost already.  If we've lost for certain, I suppose it's good to know that at least one of you will survive the upcoming battle.  _Mieren paused again, looking up at Kento with misted eyes.  _I will not fight you, little brother._

With that, Mieren grasped the tetsubo as far up the pole as she was able, yanking downwards with all of her considerable strength.  Kento dropped his hold on his weapon, moving away from Mieren slowly.

"Nice job," Sehkmet said happily, slapping Kento on the shoulder, not noticing his answering scowl.  Mieren looked up from where she lay panting on the ground, wrenching the tetsubo from her chest and tossing it lightly through the air to Kento.  He snagged his weapon out of the air, rounding furiously on the startled Warlord.

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

Sehkmet screamed as the sure-kill slammed into him from point-blank range, the sheer power of the blow melting the front of his armor into a molten mass.  He called upon his last reserves of strength, vanishing in a swirl of black light.

_He never seemed too bright anyway_, the weak thought caught the attention of the Ronins, Kento dropping to his knees as he turned to face Mieren once more.  He looked to the blade of his tetsubo, eyes watering at the crimson staining the shining metal.

"Sage," he whispered, throat closing.

"I can't do anything!  I haven't been able to since…" Sage trailed off helplessly.

Mieren looked up, eyes clouded.  _Don't worry about it.  It doesn't matter.  The five of you need to stay together.  Together you may be able to do what I could not._

By the end of Mieren's last thought, the guys could barely hear her.  As the gentle rasping in her throat died, so did Mieren.

*     *     *

Cye scrubbed his hands through his hair in frustration and helplessness.  Kento wouldn't even let him in his own room and was blatantly refusing to talk to anyone for any reason, too racked with guilt to speak.  Ryo had retreated to his room and seemed to be struggling to keep from having a nervous breakdown.  Sage had immediately disappeared into the woods, probably to meditate, but Cye was worried about his mental and emotional stability at the moment.  Rowen had collapsed sobbing and had to be carried up to his room.  He and Mia had been left with the task of burying Mieren, all attempts at reviving her having proved to be completely useless.  Mia had fallen asleep from exhaustion shortly thereafter, leaving him to deal with the others on his own.

A soft growl caught his attention.  He looked down with tears threatening to fall from his eyes as White Blaze nuzzled him weakly, still sore from his time in the caves.  He dropped to his knees, embracing the huge cat roughly, seeking comfort in any form he could get it.

"Watch Ryo for me, would you Blaze?" he whispered to the tiger unsteadily.

White Blaze whimpered softly, licking the boy's cheek before trotting to Ryo's room, pushing open the door, slipping in silently, and even kicking the door shut once inside.  Cye was eternally grateful for the tiger's intelligence at this point.  He didn't think he could handle this on his own.

He sighed, slipping outside.  Scaling one of the trees near the house, he made a flying leap, landing on the balcony of his room, sliding inside to make another attempt to talk to his best friend.

"Kento, it wasn't your fault," he began slowly.

"You don't understand," he whispered, tears streaming down from the one eye that still worked.  "I went to the Dynasty willingly so I could get enough power to fight her.  I didn't care about anything else like why she did what she did.  I just wanted revenge for what she did to us.  I wanted to stop her from what she would have done."

"It's okay, Kento.  We were all mad at her, at what she did.  Sage nearly killed her himself."

"He did?" he asked tremulously.

"Yea.  They both disappeared into the woods shortly thereafter.  When he came back, he told us what she had told him.  You know that she was created a long time ago in the war of the sorcerers, right?  Well, that makes her over three thousand years old.  Her original opponent, the one she told us that we were to fight, is now in the Dynasty.  Sage told us that everything she did was to make us strong enough to beat that demon that she never could.  That's the only reason that he didn't kill her, but you didn't know that."

Kento didn't say anything.  His head hung against his chest limply, body racked with sobs and shoulders trembling.  Cye's shoulders slumped.  Kento wasn't going to get over this any time soon, and understandably so.  Hopefully he wouldn't do anything drastic until the guys could snap him out of this.  He would also have to watch Rowen.  He had tried to kill Kento just before he had passed out from grief.

Sliding quietly onto the balcony once more, he slipped silently into Rowen's room, hoping he had a little better luck with him.  Rowen was curled up on his bed, shivering violently, breath rasping in his throat.

"Rowen," he began softly, fumbling with something comforting to say.  Rowen was immediately engulfed in sapphire flames, eyes blazing.

"Leave me alone," he whimpered, curling up tighter on his bed as the flames around him rose higher, licking the ceiling.  Cye swallowed nervously.  He couldn't handle that much energy without either hurting himself or Rowen.  Even if he tried, the two of them would probably end up blowing up the house, and Rowen would be no better off from it.  He backed out of the room with his hands raised wearily in front of him.  Even now, it was hard to believe that Rowen loved the girl, the very idea being quite astonishing considering how she had tormented all of them, especially him.

Stumbling down the hall dejectedly, he came to Ryo's room.  _One last try_, he thought, mouth tightening.  His last attempt to speak to the older boy hadn't gone over so well, leaving them both with more bruises than he would have cared for.  Shouldering the door open, he eyed the tiger sitting in the far corner of the room, regarding Ryo with large, worried eyes.  For his part, Ryo was curled up on the bed, faced buried in his hands and hair falling limply across his hands.

"Ryo," he whispered, nearly leaping out of his skin when his friend looked up.

"Leave me alone, Cye," he said in a small, tremulous voice, burying his face in his hands once more.  Cye could only blink in confusion.

"I thought you figured that out," he murmured, eyes tracing the heavy muscles apparent even below Ryo's baggy shirt.  His gaze hovered for a moment on his strangely jointed legs when Ryo looked up, awarding him with a view of his blurred features.

Ryo shook his head forcefully.  "She lied to me, Cye.  She said that she had removed the shield.  She hadn't.  Not all the way.  She was slowly removing it so I had time to learn," he trailed off, eyes sliding shut as tears threatened to fall.  "Without help, this is all the better I can do.  Go away, Cye.  You wouldn't understand."

Cye's shoulders slumped.  A lot of good he was doing today.  He had no idea what he was supposed to say in a situation like this.  Zero out of three.  Just great.  Maybe he would have better luck with Sage when he got back.

Slipping out of the room silently, he threw a meaningful gaze at the tiger before heading back to the kitchen, back to the only thing he seemed to be any good at.

*     *     *

Sage shifted uncomfortably, mouth tightening in irritation and hopelessness.  He had seen Mieren's body, but he couldn't bring himself to accept that she was dead, not after what he had seen her survive in her memories.  He scrubbed his hands through his hair, disarraying several golden locks.  She and Ryo could shapeshift.  Without her, how was he going to learn?  Ryo seemed to know what he was doing for the most part, so he didn't have much to worry about himself.  He dove into the depths of his memory, searching frantically through the slivers of thought that had been transmitted to him with the main memory.  Mieren raging across a battlefield for a lost cause, the only remaining survivor of a battle long since lost.  A mob surrounding Mieren with torches and swords.  Mieren roving through the Dynasty, leaving a trail of corpses behind her as she traveled through the endless halls.  Kayura screaming in agony as Mieren left her sprawled bonelessly across the floor, blood dripping from both of them, none of it Mieren's.  Mieren crying alone in the night, curled up on the couch in the living room, only rising once to check on each of them.  Mieren looking up at Kento, eyes clouding in betrayal as he screamed out his sure-kill.

Sage gasped loudly, lurching to his feet.  That was impossible.  That had happened only a few hours ago.  How could he have seen that from the memories she had shown him?  He licked his lips uncertainly, wondering if the confusion and shock of her death had scrambled his memories.  Maybe she had unknowingly transmitted the thought to him while speaking to them as she breathed her last.  That was a possibility.  Settling back to the ground, he began to meditate once more, trying desperately to settle his mangled nerves and emotions.

Several hours of meditation proved to be pointless, leaving Sage just as unhinged as when he had staggered out here.  He pulled himself slowly ho his feet, throat tightening in disgust when he looked at what the girl had done to him.  He slowly began to head back to the house, deciding that Cye and Ryo would probably need his help with Rowen and Kento.

Something in the far reaches of his mind clicked softly, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.  Sensing nothing around him, he took a hesitant step towards Mia's house, freezing once more when a strange sensation tickled the back of his mind so softly that it was almost undetectable.  He strained his eyes in the darkness, searching desperately for something that could set off his senses like that, but found nothing.  He was about to start moving again when he heard the soft snapping of a twig not far from him, originating from somewhere within the dense cover of bushes to his left.  One of the trees ahead rustled softly, causing Sage to curse mentally.  Only one tree had moved.  Whatever was out there, it had him completely surrounded.

Sage bolted in the direction of the house, hoping his new speed could save him if nothing else.  He was unprepared for the attack as it came, a single wolf darting between his legs, the teeth sinking into his front left leg throwing him off-balance.  A second wolf jumped in from the left, further unbalancing him as a third leapt down from a tree, the beast's weight throwing him onto his side as the rest of the pack darted in.  Sage squeaked, rolling to his feet and making a point of stepping on several wolves in the process.  Gathering all of his strength into his fists, he slammed the nearest wolf into a tree, gaping incredulously when it sprang back to its feet immediately.  A similar blow had knocked Mieren across the yard and downed her for several seconds earlier today.  One of the wolves, apparently the leader of the pack, growled sharply, causing all of the others to circle in a unified fashion, darting in simultaneously to seize legs and pull fiercely.  Sage dropped to the ground abruptly, lashing out with his fists frantically as a wolf slipped in and seized his throat in its thick muzzle.

A bellow in the distance barely registered in his mind as the pack of wolves pulled him onto his side, teeth slashing viciously.  He gulped in air pitifully as the wolf at his throat released him suddenly, a pained howl erupting from its throat.  Sage's eyes fluttered open weakly to see a massive cougar darting among the wolves, claws sending the beasts running if they were still upright after the blows.  In a matter of moments, the entire pack of thirty was either dead or dispersed.  The mountain lion moved over to him, growl thrumming deep within its throat as it sniffed him skittishly.  _Great,_ he thought miserably_, what next?  A rabid bear to the rescue?_

The cougar paused in snuffling him, looking at him with deep golden-brown eyes, tongue running along the length of its muzzle.  Pushing past his feeble kicks, the cat began licking a thick gash along his ribs, leaping out of the way as he managed to take a swing at its head with one hoof.  Circling him, the cat began again, this time standing directly behind him so that he could take no more wild swings in its direction.  Finishing with the one trench, it moved onto another, occasionally throwing a glance at his face while licking a bloodstained muzzle.

Sage lifted his head slowly as he realized the cougar wasn't going to maul him.  "Were you someone's pet or something?" he muttered dryly, eyeing the cat that was nearly the same size as White Blaze.  The cougar cocked its head at a strange angle, regarding him carefully as he spoke.  Turning away suddenly, it moved to his legs, pinning the nearest one gently with one paw as it began cleaning the deep lacerations.  Sage craned his head to see the deep trench in his ribs, choking on a curse when he saw that the wound had stopped bleeding and looked almost half healed, a thin layer of pinkish skin covering the slash.

"Mieren?" he asked slowly, turning to face the cat fully.

The mountain lion froze in cleaning a set of fang marks in his leg to give him a guarded look, eyes narrowing.  Something tickled the back of his mind again, the feeling so light that it almost wasn't there.  Sage couldn't focus his mind clearly enough to place the feeling, sighing in exasperation as he lowered himself back to the ground wearily.  The feeling came again, intensified slightly, pulling at him gently.  He closed his eyes, opening his mind to the feeling there, entering a pale state of meditation and concentrating fiercely.  The slight sensation sharpened to something that almost resembled a shocked denial.

Sage's eyes snapped open as he regarded that cougar once more.  "That was you, right?" he whispered, blinking in surprise when the beast moved to rasp his face with an incredibly rough tongue.  He grinned weakly, reaching out to pet the great cat's head, missing miserably as the massive feline shifted to resume work.

Something that was half growl, half whimper escaped the cougar's throat as it stood in front of him.  Sage lifted his head, eyes widening when he saw what the beast was looking at, a nauseous feeling rising in his throat.  His entire stomach had been ripped out, disemboweling him completely, the cougar unable to see anything from his thrashing, which unfortunately seemed to have caused more problems than he would have liked to admit.  He reached down with an unsteady hand, not resisting when the cougar swatted his arm away.  He tried to keep his legs still so he wouldn't do any further damage.  The cougar only threw him an irritated glare before bolting into the woods once more.

*     *     *

Cye slumped in his chair at the table.  He hadn't really expected anyone to make it to dinner anyway, but for all three of them to run him off when he tried to bring it to them was something that he hadn't anticipated.  He sighed for at least the tenth time in the last five minutes, bending over to scratch White Blaze's upraised head wearily.  The tiger jumped to his feet, growl rising and abruptly dying in his throat as he looked at the front door for a moment before darting upstairs.  Cye blinked in confusion as he heard a door crash open upstairs, quickly followed by Ryo's furious cursing.  White Blaze darted to the door, slamming it open without slowing as Ryo clung frantically to his back, swearing loudly at the tiger.

Cye had barely had time to pull himself to his feet when a mountain lion charged through the open door, fixing him in its sights immediately.  He squeaked and turned to run as the great golden-brown cat charged him, slipping between his legs before turning to bolt out of the house with his rather unwilling passenger.  Cye leapt off of the beast, spinning to bolt only to be cut off by the growling cougar who slipped under him again, holding his wrist in his mouth to make sure that he didn't escape again as he slipped into the darkness.  In a matter of moments, White Blaze and the cougar were running side by side, Ryo and Cye exchanging incredulous glances and peering ahead uncertainly.

They were both unceremoniously dropped to the ground as the two cats skidded to a stop simultaneously.  Ryo was on his feet immediately, turning to head back to the house to hole himself up in his room once more, White Blaze cutting him off with a furious roar before he had gone two steps.  Both boys had their wrists snagged again as the cats pulled them forward demandingly, the cougar forcing Cye to his knees as he pulled the younger of the two towards something on the ground just in front of them.  Cye shifted his eyes to accommodate to the dark without thinking, Ryo following his example immediately, both of them oblivious to the cougar's widening eyes as they saw Sage sprawled on the trail ahead.  Cye was by his side in an instant.

"Oh God, Sage, what happened?  Ryo, help me!"

Ryo nearly fainted when he saw his friend lying disemboweled on the ground, shallow breaths rasping in a half-healed throat.

*     *     *

"MIA!  ROWEN!  KENTO!  Get down here NOW!  Sage is hurt!"

Before Ryo's order had finished ringing through the house, Mia and Kento where in the room, followed by Rowen after a few seconds.

"What the hell is that?" Kento demanded, indicating the cougar.

"Later, Kento.  Get the medical supplies."

The two great cats lowered themselves to the floor, gently depositing the injured Ronin to the ground as they slowly slid from beneath the mortally wounded boy.  Cye moved forward quickly to untie the strips of his shirt holding Ryo's coat firmly to his friend's midsection.  Rowen and Cye were instantly side by side, surrounded by sapphire and turquoise flames, respectively, as they inspected a delirious Sage.

"Let Turriv by," Sage gasped weakly, swatting at his two friends feebly.

"Turriv?" Cye asked slowly, silently questioning his friend's mental stability at the moment.

"The cougar," he panted, trying to push Cye out of the way again, succeeding this time in knocking the younger boy off to the side.  The mountain lion immediately moved forward, trying to begin work again, ignoring the many sets of hands pulling at him.  He swatted away the nearest boy, yelping as he singed his paw on the sapphire flames emanating from the youth.  He got in another few licks before the boy that had been riding his young cousin pulled him away forcefully.

"Guys, let the cougar go," Mia whispered, ending the ensuing struggle.

"Why?" Kento demanded, placing himself firmly between the cat and Sage.

"Look at Sage," she murmured.

There was a moment of stunned silence before Kento stepped numbly aside to let the massive cat pass him, staring blankly at the half-healed gash in his friend's stomach.  Everyone watched paralyzed as the wound lessened under the gentle cleaning of the mountain lion until a fragile layer of skin shone wetly from beneath the rasping tongue, leaving a ragged scar through the thick golden fur.  The cougar inspected his work for a moment before settling down to begin washing himself, occasionally glancing around the room at the four boys and one girl staring at him intently.

"Um, let's get Sage to his bed," Ryo said slowly, freezing when the cougar leapt between the five of them and Sage, hissing angrily.

"I don't think we should move him," Cye whispered, eyes slightly unfocused.

"Shit, Cye!  What's wrong with your eyes?" Kento cried out, grabbing his shoulders roughly as he peered more closely at the gray film shimmering across his friend's eyes.  "Tell me that that thing isn't another one of them!"

Cye collapsed twitching in Kento's arms as the cougar turned his gaze on him, panting frantically and twisting futilely in attempt to escape the strong arms holding him.  Ryo, Rowen and Mia moved closer, trying to get a better look at the flailing youth as his trembling increased, Ryo careful to hide behind Rowen so that Mia couldn't get a good look at him.  Tears began streaming from the youngest Ronin's eyes.

"Turriv, slow down.  You're hurting me.  Please.  It _hurts_!" Cye wailed into the room, his cry escalating into a shriek for a moment before Ryo spun to deck the cougar with a growl.  The cougar blinked at Ryo in confusion for a moment as Cye's shrieks abated slowly, softening into a whimpering pant that wracked the slender boy's body for a few seconds before he passed out.

Kento lowered his best friend to the floor before rounding on the massive feline, eyes blazing furiously.  "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" he all but screamed, fully intent on throttling the huge cat regarding him thoughtfully.

Rowen let out a soft noise, dropping to the ground promptly and clutching his head in quaking hands, his breathing growing ragged.  He only trembled for a moment before losing consciousness and collapsing next to Cye.  The cat snorted loudly.

Kento lost what little remained of his temper, tackling the cougar and trying to pin it to the ground as it playfully kicked at him with thick paws, claws carefully retracted.  Kento would have none of it, slamming his fist into the heavily muscled side, earning a loud grunt from his opponent.  The enormous cat promptly flipped him onto his back, sitting on his chest with what could only be called a smug expression.

_Hardrock._  The great cat paused for a moment, mouth opening in an approximation of a grin as he regarded the boy beneath him.  _Or should I say Diamond?_

Kento nearly leapt out of his skin before going completely limp under the weight of the beast that seemed to by trying its hardest to crack his ribs.  The cougar's mouth opened in an eerie proximity of a grin as it launched itself off of the dumbfounded boy, pushing him to his feet helpfully.  Kento stepped away from the massive beast, paling further as it followed him lazily, eyes glittering golden in the pale light of the room.  It spun to face the unconscious boy who had unwittingly singed his paw.

Rowen began muttering loudly in his sleep, the words frighteningly intelligible.  "Kento?… yes, armor of Hardrock… no, she's not here… didn't make it… Kento killed her… betrayed us… she didn't fight back… fifth dimension?… no, it can't be manipulated like that… yes, a flash of gold in the distance… was that you?… what happened to Sage?… no, wolves aren't that strong… can't you heal better?… Sage is still hurt…" he trailed off abruptly, eyes snapping open.  He gasped loudly, struggling to sit up, eyeing the cougar nervously.  After clearing his throat raggedly, he looked up.

"Turriv says that Sage was taken down by a pack of wolves released by the Dynasty and that he can't do anything else for him.  He says that he never was any good at healing.  He wants you guys to know that Mieren brought him here to guard Kento," Rowen whispered, eyes watering as he regarded the person responsible for Mieren's death.  He struggled with himself for a moment, his emotions raging across his face.  He wanted to thrash Kento into an unidentifiable pulp for what he had done, yet at the same time, he couldn't bring himself to go against Mieren's last actions in her life.  A cry escaped his throat as he darted up to his room, the door slamming closed sharply.

Kento's eyes bulged.  That's what she had been doing?  His throat tightened brutally, eyes misting.  He scrubbed the back of his one good eye with his knuckles, not bothering trying to clear the one that would never see anything again.  He had been trying to kill her, and she had used her energy to summon someone to guard him instead of defending herself.  Spinning sharply, he darted out of the room, all too aware of the cougar that shadowed him silently as he slid into his room to weep in helpless frustration and guilt.

*     *     *

Cye jumped to his feet as Ryo moved to retreat to his room, catching the older boy's arm in a firm grip and giving him an irritated glare.

"Don't even think it," he snapped, pushing Ryo onto the couch.  "I am not watching Sage by myself while the rest of you sulk.  Don't glare at me like that.  I don't care how uppity you are about your appearance right now.  You're staying here.  How do you think Sage feels?  He's just as bad off as you are.  Sit your ass down.  Now.  You're taking first watch, like it or not.  Mia and I are going to bed," he hissed, blatantly refusing to acknowledge his friend's furious glare.

Ryo gave him a look that could have left his yari in a molten pool, but Cye returned the glare stubbornly until Ryo ground his teeth and nodded acquiescence.

Ryo growled in annoyance.  Since when had Cye gotten so stubborn?  Or developed a backbone for that matter?  He sighed, leaning back in the couch and trying to ignore Mia's tear-filled eyes as she looked at him one last time before leaving the room.  Ever since Mieren had shown up, there had been nothing but trouble.  Not to say that it had been her fault, exactly, since things were just as bad if not worse now that she was gone.  He scrubbed his hands through his unruly hair, forcing the wild black locks out of his face and tying them at the base of his neck.  Cye was so different since having been captured by the Dynasty, his timid easy-going manner lost in a raging temper offset by a streak of uncharacteristic stubbornness.  Rowen and Kento were both emotionally shot at the moment, and were likely to remain so for some time no matter what anyone did.  As for himself and Sage… he sighed again, shoulders slumping.

Thinking of Sage, he leaned forward to check on his breathing, nodding slightly before leaning back.  Whatever Turriv had done, Sage looked like he was going to be fine with just a little rest, and would probably suffer no lasting damage from the attack aside from a multitude of scars covering him.  He nearly leapt out of his skin when Sage thrashed in his sleep, muttering unintelligibly.

He leaned forward again, blinking in confusion when he noticed that his friend was sweating heavily.  _Shit,_ he thought in irritation.  _He's running a fever.  A bad one, too.  Just what I needed._  He sighed softly as he got up, heading to the kitchen for some cold water and some towels.  Sopping a few of the small towels in cold water, he headed back to the living room, draping the sopped cloth across his friend's forehead and settling back on the couch when his tremors abated.  After a few minutes when he was sure he had killed his friend's fever, he removed the soaking towels and leaned back to get a little rest, wondering idly how long Cye was going to be before taking his watch.

A soft rustling roused Ryo.  He raised his head groggily, eyes snapping open when he looked at the empty spot on the floor where Sage had been.  He was in a state of panic when Sage calmly walked in from the kitchen, blinking at him in surprise.

"Finally up?" Sage asked dryly, settling gingerly back to the floor with a small meal in hand.  "I tried to wake you for nearly half of an hour before I gave up and got my own food," he said quickly when Ryo scowled darkly at him.  Ryo grunted an answer and went into the kitchen for his own snack.

Plopping down on the floor in front of Sage, he squinted in the dim light to see if he was doing any better, shifting his eyes to crimson when he couldn't make out his features immediately.  Sage jumped slightly.

"Stop that," he muttered, eyeing the ruby orbs glittering in the darkness just in front of him.  "Turn on a light or something."

Ryo snorted in response, allowing his eyes to shift back when Sage continued to squirm uncomfortably.  "How did you know Turriv's name?  He dropped both Rowen and Cye by trying to talk to them.  I'll be surprised if they're up and walking tomorrow considering how they were clutching their heads and yelling."

Sage shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  He was trying to talk to me for quite a while in the woods, but I couldn't hear him at all.  I was only able to get the vaguest feelings from him and he seemed to be struggling to even get those across."

"Kento heard him without a problem."

"How do you know?"

"If you had seen him jump like he did with that expression on his face…"

"That bad, huh?"

"Yea, that bad.  Kento was trying to cream him for dropping Rowen and Cye.  He nearly had a seizure when the cougar sat on him and looked directly at him.  I'm not exactly sure what he said, but it thoroughly unnerved Kento."

"Did you find out anything at all from Turriv?"

"Well, kinda," Ryo said slowly, chewing his lower lip.  "He started talking to Rowen while he was unconscious.  He said something about the fifth dimension, being unable to heal you any better than he already had, and about that flash of gold lightning earlier being him.  He also told us that Mieren sent him to guard Kento."

Sage grimaced.  "Rowen's not taking that very well, is he?"

Ryo didn't have to answer that, Sage's expression showing that he knew full well how badly his best friend was taking that particular bit of news.

Sage squinted at him suddenly, a soft greenish glow appearing behind his eyes, giving them an eerie molten appearance that set Ryo's skin crawling.  "Shield's gone, isn't it?"

Ryo's head snapped up.  "How can you tell that?"

"I placed the first shield on you, and was watching carefully as Mieren placed hers.  The things are pretty obvious if you know what you're looking at."   Seeing Ryo's hopeful expression, he sighed and leaned forward, grasping his friend's twisted face carefully in his hands.  The two were enveloped by an emerald glow that lit up the room for a brief moment.

Ryo looked at his taloned hands, mouth tightening.  "Sorry," Sage murmured.  "That's all the stronger I can make the shield.  I'm nowhere near as strong as Mieren was, you know."  He froze as crimson flames began licking at Ryo gently, flickering in and out of existence erratically.

Ryo began to tremble fiercely, curling his fingers into fists and closing his eyes as all of the muscles in his body tightened almost to the point of tearing.  His breathing became hoarse, a growl rising slowly in the back of his throat.  His features blurred for a moment before he looked up triumphantly.  Sage's eyes bulged.

"How in the hell do you keep doing that?" he demanded, eyeing Ryo incredulously.

"I'll tell you when I figure it out.  You should go back to sleep."

Sage snorted unhappily, handing his plate to Ryo as he rolled slowly onto his side, very aware of the half-healed slash lining the length of his stomach.  Ryo trotted to the kitchen, not realizing that he should have switched on a light when Sage had requested it.  It would have been better for all of them if he had.

*     *     *

Roughly halfway through the night, Cye stumped downstairs slowly, knuckling his eyes fiercely and yawning loudly.  Stepping into the blackness of the living room, he made a face and shifted his eyes to a deep ruby, scanning the room for a moment before moving unerringly over to Ryo.  Shaking the snoring boy gently, he grinned ruefully as Ryo promptly squeaked and fell off of the couch at his first glimpse of a set of glowing eyes not three feet from him.  Cye chuckled softly.

"That is _not_ funny," Ryo grumped, shifting his eyes to match his friend's.

"Sure it is," Cye snickered.  He sobered up quickly.  "How's he doing?"

"He had a fever for about an hour, but I got it back down quick enough.  He woke up not long ago to raid the kitchen, so I think he's doing fine."

Cye nodded slowly.  With an injury like that, Sage shouldn't be eating anything just yet.  But then again, Turriv had healed him, so it probably wasn't a problem.  He appropriated Ryo's spot on the couch as the older boy staggered out of the room, still mostly asleep despite falling on his face.

Cye let out a deep breath as he settled into the couch, wishing he were still curled up in Ryo's bed, having been unable to get back into his own room.  The last thing he had seen was Kento trying to lift the cat off of his bed so that he could throw it out into the hall, the great beast not complying in the slightest.  In a way, it was almost as humorous as watching the heavy-set boy trying to take on White Blaze, the success rate being about the same.

Sage groaned and did his best to curl up on the floor, trembling slightly.  Cye jumped down to inspect him quickly, making a face at his unconscious friend.  He _knew_ that Sage shouldn't have been eating anything just yet.  He settled back on the couch.  _Idiot,_ he thought,_ you of all people should know better than to eat right now._

Cye leaned back on the couch, watching concernedly as Sage's trembling abruptly ceased, his panting changing suddenly to deep, steady breaths.  _Muscle cramp_, Cye decided, yawning widely as he lost his battle to remain awake, head lolling limply to one side and a soft snore escaping his lips.

*     *     *

Kento yawned loudly, jaw creaking as he headed towards the kitchen.  Opening the fridge, he cried out angrily.  Someone had eaten the sub he had made earlier last night for his breakfast as a midnight snack.  Grumbling in irritation, he began rooting through the fridge for something else edible, finally settling on a slab of cold turkey.  Heading into the living room, he froze at the sight of Cye draped across the couch while Sage was sprawled across the floor.

"When da hell did ya go gray?" he mumbled around a mouthful of turkey.

Cye's eyes fluttered open slowly as he turned to regard his friend leaning against the wall just next to the doorway.  "Wha?" he asked sleepily, scrubbing at one eye.

"Sage.  Why is he gray?"

Cye was off of the couch and by his unconscious friend in an instant, jaw quivering violently as he stared at the gray fur that had been golden only last night.  If that weren't strange enough, Sage's hair had changed to the same dull gray.  Sensing that he was being inspected, he tried to push himself up, eyes peeling open slowly as he rose.  Cye choked on a cry, sliding across the floor as quickly as he was able until his back slammed into the couch, eyes threatening to bulge out of his head.

"What?"

"Kento," Cye whispered, quivering slightly.  "Go get Ryo."

Kento spun and darted out of the room, thoroughly unnerved by the terror in his best friend's voice.  Within the span of two paces, a massive cougar was pacing him.  Slamming open the door to Ryo's room and ignoring the indignant shouts, he lifted his friend across his shoulders and darted to the top of the stairs, depositing Ryo roughly.

"Cye needs your help!" he cried out as he careened down the stairs, pulling Ryo along in his wake.

Kento gasped as Sage looked up at them as they entered the living room, his normally crystal-blue eyes a pale green, yellow flecks surrounding his pupils heavily.  Ryo skidded to a halt a few inches from Sage, dropping to his knees and grasping his friend's head in his hands, peeling back his eyelids to inspect his friend's irises.

"Oh God, not again," he whispered, thoughts drifting back to the tunnels.

"Guys," Sage began unsteadily, beginning to understand what was going on.  "What are we going to do without Mie… um… someone to form a shield?  I'm the only one who even knows vaguely how to do that, and I can't shield myself."  Kento watched him worriedly, understanding quite well why his voice trailed off to a whisper by the end.  Sage looked around the room, beginning to tremble, his eyes wild.  "Ryo got a lot stronger when… and I'm already stronger than any of you," he whimpered, rising onto unsteady feet, ready to bolt towards the door.

Kento wasn't the only one to recognize the look on his friend's face.  Ryo and Cye were immediately helping him block the front door, planting their feet surely and preparing themselves for a battle of strength and wills.  Sage only looked at the three of them for a moment before turning and bolting out the back door.  Curses rang through the house as the three Ronins started after their friend, losing him in the trees in a matter of seconds.  Ryo leapt into the air, hoping to get a better view of the trails below, spitting vulgarities wildly when he realized that Sage knew he would try to follow like this and so had taken measures to remain hidden from an aerial view.  After the three searched for nearly four hours, they collapsed in defeat, knowing that with as fast as Sage had become, he could be anywhere by now.

*     *     *

Sage stumbled clumsily to a stop roughly an hour after he could no longer see Ryo's silhouette soaring through the morning sky.  Staggering to a halt near a huge oak, he blinked groggily, vainly attempting to force his eyes to focus.  _It shouldn't take them too long to get White Blaze and Turriv to trail me.  They're bound to figure out eventually that if they can't see me, that the two cats will be able to follow me without a problem._  He sighed.  He had been trying to get away from the others.  There was nothing that they could do and he didn't want to hurt any of them when he eventually lost control like Ryo had.  He slid to the ground wearily, jaw tightening and eyes misting.

Sage was near the point of a nervous breakdown when _something_ rustled in the bushes not far from him.  He lurched to his feet abruptly, scowling.  _Not again, _he thought wearily.  _Oh please, God, not again, _he whimpered as a lone wolf slunk into the open, lips peeled away from terrifying canines.  The beast took a single step forward, ears flattening to the dark head as Sage retreated several feet, watching the lithe animal warily.  He didn't even have time to blink before another dozen shadowy forms leapt from the surrounding bushes, eyeing him carefully.  Sage wailed softly as he eyed the rough circle of muscular forms surrounding him.  His warrior instincts took over and he raised his arms defensively, refusing to go down without taking these bastards with him.  The choice to fight was taken from him, however, as a snowy figure leapt out of the tree directly above him, slashing at the nearest golden-eyed canine.  The wolf howled in agony, tearing away from the blurred figure as fast as it was able to move on its three remaining legs.  The beast only had time to move three strides before a second strike from the pearly figure dropped it to the cold earth for the last time.

The snowy figure began a whirlwind attack, mangling anything that came within its considerable reach.  In a matter of moments, all of the wolves lay still on the ground, most of them never having had the time to turn to flee the ensuing chaos.  As the battle ended, the pallid figure dropped to the ground, barely breathing, not having the strength to pant properly.  Sage moved forward cautiously, studying the abomination lying before him carefully before kneeling to offer assistance to the trembling creature.

Thin membranous wings lay limp in a pathetic attempt to remain furled, mostly obscuring the long, whip-like tail.  Past that, the creature looked almost human, if one could ignore the fact that the thing couldn't have weighed more than fifty pounds for all of its apparent six-foot height.  Sage's mouth hung limp.  It was nothing more than a mass of skin stretched tightly over sharply protruding bones.  Opal hair hung to the creature's waist, silken waves falling wildly about the gaunt frame.  Sage reached out, openly wondering if there was anything he could do for the thing that had just saved him, seeing as how there were no external injuries for him to heal.  _Like I could heal it even if it were hurt_, he grumped, thoroughly infuriated beyond calming.

Sage nearly jumped out of his skin as the thing opened its eyes for a moment, regarding him with blank orbs, no irises or pupils apparent.  A skeletal hand reached towards him, dropping to the ground as the thing immediately passed out once more.  He swallowed nervously.  What was it?  Another demon from Mieren's dimension?  Coming upon that thought, Sage began to idly wonder if it was male or female.  With something as starved as this creature appeared to be, the chest would be no indication in determining the gender.  He flicked the thing's shirt back slightly, gaping at the hollowed stomach, caving so far back as to nearly reach the backbone.  _I could wrap one hand around its waist without even straining.  Good God!  How can it still be alive?  How could it have fought like that?  It has to be nearly dead._

Curiosity getting the better of him, Sage hooked one finger in the waist-band of the winged creature's pants, pulling them forward ever so slightly and peering down the baggy garment.  _Definitely female,_ he decided, one eyebrow lifting marginally.  He froze at what he was doing.  This wasn't like him at all!  He remembered how Ryo had lost control in the caves, closing his eyes and mind against the memory.  How long did he have?  He had to keep better control than this.

Sage scrubbed his hand through ever-darkening hair, trying vainly to pull himself together, to gather what sanity and self-control he had left and preserve whatever remained of his own personality.  His concentration was shattered as a cool hand traced his jaw-line gently, running the silken fingers under his chin to guide his gaze towards the starved figure swaying gently on the ground.  The deathly white girl locked her hand on his shoulder, pulling herself to a sitting position for a moment before slumping bonelessly against him, pale echoes of tremors running through her slight frame.

"Did Mieren send you?" he asked softly, opening his mind entirely as he listened intently for a response, not surprised when he didn't get one.

The skeletal hand resumed its tracing of his jaw, sliding down his neck and chest almost appreciatively before slipping around his ribs to grope blindly at his shoulder blades and neck.  Sage shivered slightly as the icy hand slid through a thick strip of fur running along his backbone, a patch that should not have been there.  At the first sign of his shuddering, a tremulous wing unfurled unsteadily to enshroud him almost comfortingly.

The girl raised her milky hands to his face once more, her silken skin cool against his own, and began caressing his face gently.  Sage closed his eyes, drawing back slightly.  As reassuring and comforting as the pale girl was trying to be at the moment, he began to grow irritated.  He didn't want her, or anyone else's, pity.

When he moved to draw away, the skeletal figure clung to him feebly, unable to maintain a grip of any sort as he pulled away.  She collapsed to the ground limply as he rose to his feet, crying piteously and reaching out towards him helplessly.  Sage grimaced, turning to move deeper into the wooded areas.  The girl, whatever she was, seemed nice, and he wanted no part in hurting her if he was unable to restrain himself even for a moment.  He hadn't gone more than a few steps before a soft padding alerted him that he was being followed.  Sage spun, finding the snowy figure wobbling after him pathetically, almost unable to remain on her feet, the softly swirled browns and greens of her baggy clothes hiding her quite well, blending her with the surrounding landscape perfectly if not for her unnaturally white skin and hair.

"Stop following me," he muttered, eyes narrowing irritably.

For a response, the slender girl walked up to him slowly, hooking one wing across his shoulders to aid herself as she scrambled onto his back quickly.  Sage's jaw dropped as she wriggled softly to find a comfortable position, slipping her arms under his and clasping her hands at the base of his ribcage, wings curling over his shoulders limply.

"Get off," he ordered darkly, beginning to tremble furiously.

Without waiting for the girl to reply, he snagged her by one wing and physically hauled her off of his back to hold her in front of him at arm's length, scowling fiercely.  He was about to throw her on the ground and stalk away angrily when he heard a low chuckle from behind him.

"Has the eternal flirt lost his ways?  One would think that you would welcome the girl seeing as how your last plaything died and all."

Sage's face contorted in fury at the sound of Cale's voice.  Sage spun nimbly, dropping the girl to the ground roughly and charging forward in a blind rage.  A swirl of green fire surrounded his hands for a moment, shooting out in front of him and solidifying into his no-dachi.

"Shit!" Cale cried out as Sage darted out of the shadows, becoming clear to the Warlord for the first time.  "What in the _hell_ happened to you?" he squeaked, his mind not registering that he was about to be run down by an infuriated Sage.

Sage bunched his muscles as he ran, launching himself at the mortified Warlord standing on a branch well up into a tree.  Cale squeaked as the no-dachi slashed at him, barely dodging the glowing blade as Sage careened by, kicking the Warlord fiercely as he passed.  Cale lost his footing and plunged from the tree, dissolving into a whirl of black flames just before crashing into the ground.

Sage landed surely, spinning to face where Cale would have landed, scowling when he saw that his opponent had fled.  He blinked in surprise at the no-dachi in his hands, mulling over what to do with his sword when it disappeared in a flash of emerald light.

He scrubbed his hand through his hair, understanding immediately why Cale had been so thoroughly unnerved by his appearance.  His jaw had long since stretched out to a length that could be considered a muzzle, and his hands had degenerated into talons.  He knew without looking that his eyes were glowing fiercely golden, even in the shadows.  He looked himself over hesitantly, horrified by the thick gray fur that seemed to be covering him almost completely, only missing a few ever-shrinking patches on his chest and back.

Sage closed his eyes tightly, head and shoulders drooping dejectedly.  He took a deep breath to steady himself, nearly jumping out of his skin when a hand was placed gently on his back.  He only had time to turn and stare in shock before the skeletal girl pulled herself up to her previous seat, wrapping her arms contentedly about him.

"Now look," Sage began, reaching over his shoulder to pull her off him again, freezing dumfounded when she shifted to rest her chin on his shoulder, her cheek nuzzled against his.  _Well, I suppose she wouldn't see anything wrong with the way I look, considering what she is_.  He sighed, raking his hair out of his eyes.  _Besides, when have I ever objected to having a girl wrapped around me?_

Wandering randomly for about an hour, he looked up in a mixture of confusion and amazement when he realized that he was heading back to Mia's.   He was about to turn around when the girl on his back moved for the first time since wrapping herself about him, gently indicating through her legs and arms with minimal pressure that she didn't want him to turn.  Sage scowled.  He wasn't about to be led about like a horse.  With an effort, he forced his temper under control, grinding his teeth as he reminded himself that she couldn't speak and was communicating in the only fashion she could.  He proceeded to ignore her, spinning to head where he wanted.  She immediately slid off of his back, snagging one of his wrists and tugging determinedly in the direction he had been going.  When he didn't follow her lead, she dug her heels into the ground, pulling with more strength that Sage would've given her credit for.  He took one step forward reluctantly, refusing to fall on his face just to keep from losing a few inches of ground.  His face betrayed a hint of awe as she forced him forward inch by inch, her breathing growing ragged rapidly.  The girl shuddered suddenly, losing her hold on him and dropping to the ground.

Sage watched her where she lay on the ground, chest constricting when he realized that she was not breathing.  Dropping to his knees, he felt gingerly at her throat for a pulse.  Not finding one, he frantically began trying to resuscitate her, thankful that he had taken several first-aid classes before he had learned how to heal.  He moved to breathe into her lungs for the fourth time, ceasing abruptly as she rapped his skull with her knuckles, glaring at him in annoyance.  She pointed in the direction she wanted to go, climbing onto his back once more.  Sage ground his teeth as he started forward reluctantly.  He would drop her off at the house then leave.  The guys could deal with her.

After only ten minutes of walking, the skeletal figure went completely limp across his back.  Sage pulled her off, attempting to revive her when he noticed that her heart had stopped again.  He hadn't been at it for more than a moment before her eyes fluttered open and she thumped him again, climbing back onto her place.  Sage's left eye developed an irritated tick as he started moving again.

When her breathing stopped for a third time, Sage merely reached over his shoulder to poke the girl in the forehead, nearly losing a finger as her teeth clicked shut just short of his hand.  He didn't bother her when she stopped breathing for the fourth time.  After another three hours of the swift pace he had set, he reached the edge of the woods, peeking carefully across the lawn to make sure that no one was there.  They were probably all still out looking for him.  He made it across the lawn and had deposited his burden before he heard something trying to sneak around behind him.

Sage spun around, ready to fight.  He blinked when he saw White Blaze and Turriv dart out of the trees, quickly followed by his four friends in their subarmor.  Sage stepped back, preparing to bolt when a tiger and cougar pinned him to the ground after only a moment of struggling with him.  He pushed them off angrily, getting a full three strides away from the house before a black wolf careened into him, sending him sprawling in the dirt once more.  Pushing Ryo off him with surprising difficulty, he tried again to leave, encountering Rowen and Cye, both surrounded by wild flames.  Cords of raw energy restrained him, holding him to the ground while Ryo continued to try to pin him, Kento holding his feet the best he could.

Sage sank into the ground suddenly, gasping in horror when he saw that he was buried to his waist in the stony soil.  He glared accusingly at Rowen and Cye, discarding the notion that those two had done it upon seeing their incredulous expressions.  He shifted his gaze quickly to the snowy figure leaning against the house calmly, pale green and brown swirled clothes shifting slightly in the gentle breeze.

Kento plucked his hands out of the earth with only a little difficulty, glancing at the two boys that were no longer glowing.

"Why didn't you two just do that in the first place?" he muttered.

"We didn't!" Cye wailed defensively, turning to Rowen helplessly.

Ryo shrugged, shifting into his human form, calling his subarmor so as not to be standing in the nude while trying to figure out what to do.

"You rat!" Sage snarled, whipping his arm forward suddenly to chunk a small stone at the girl from where she still leaned against the house casually.  He blinked in confusion at his friends' open-mouth stares until he realized what he had just said, or rather, had tried to say.  The words that had escaped his mouth were nothing more than twisted growls.  He clicked his teeth shut and tried not to make eye contact with any of the others.

"Can you do anything, Turriv?" Ryo asked slowly, never taking his eyes off his trembling friend.

"Not a thing," Kento muttered, staring at the ground forlornly.

"I don't know what I'm doing well enough to try anything like that, and neither does Rowen," Cye murmured slowly.

Sage growled in frustration, chunking another rock at the figure standing motionless behind the four idiots staring at him.  This time they turned around when the girl yelped sharply as the stone pegged her squarely between the eyes.  The sight greeting them was that of Turriv curled up at the girl's feet while White Blaze blatantly ignored her very existence, the girl alternately rubbing her head and glaring in their direction.

Rowen walked over to her quickly, jaw trembling as he drew nearer.  He closed his eyes and hugged her fiercely, muttering Mieren's name in the snowy hair.

"Rowen, don't do this to yourself, man," Ryo said slowly, preparing to pry his friend off of the strange girl when enormous pearly wings enveloped the boy hugging her, Rowen disappearing completely within the silken folds of skin.  His yelp echoed across the yard as the wings folded about him and he began fighting his way free of the girl's embrace.  The pale girl grinned widely at his antics, rewarding them all with a view of perfectly straight teeth, canines much too long to be human.

Sage glared at Rowen as though his best friend had just lost his mind.  The only similarities in appearance that he could see between the two were their height and gender.  The resemblance ended there.

"Can you do anything for him?" Ryo asked slowly, sighing in frustration when she only raised her head to regard him blankly.  "Kento, could you?"

Kento sighed, looking towards the great cougar that he had learned how to speak to gradually while they were following Sage.  Golden eyes raised to lock with his own for a moment before the enormous cat twisted his head to look at the snowy figure.

Kento blinked at the response.  "She wants to know what exactly we're talking about.  Right now she is just curious as to whether or not we actually want him freed from the ground."  He suddenly looked like he wanted to rip his hair out as he locked eyes with the cougar once more.

The girl glanced over at Sage from where she leaned against the house, looking almost loath to leave her comfortable position.  She ambled over to where Sage was planted in the ground, dropping to the earth lazily.  She grasped his head in her hands, opal flames licking her gaunt form as she regarded him cheerily.  Shrugging slightly, she turned to Turriv.  Kento scowled.

"She wants to know if we wouldn't prefer to leave him like he is now," he muttered darkly, his one good eye glittering dangerously.  "Turriv says that she thinks he's cute as is."

The deathly pale girl grimaced at the five scowls thrown in her direction, grasping Sage's head once more.  The flames shot about her in a virtual inferno, both she and Sage vanishing in the brilliant light.  The flames died to reveal Sage as he had been before the wolves attacked him, still buried in the ground to his waist, only parts of his golden back showing through, the ashen girl sprawled bonelessly beside him.  Ryo, Cye and Kento began trying to pull their friend out of the ground, grinning foolishly, while Rowen hesitantly lifted the girl in his arms, trying to ignore Turriv's angry snarls.

TBC…

Another day, another chapter retrieved from the more or less totaled hard drive.  These chapters are long and I have to fix them before I can repost.  Stupid computer.  R&R.


	6. Part 6

Midnight Shadows

Part 6

By Mieren

Dais stretched painfully, sending small ripples through the pools off into the darkness surrounding him.  He ran disbelieving fingers across the blemish on the breastplate of his armor where it hadn't been able to repair itself perfectly.  He winced, thinking of the mirroring scar beneath the armor and subarmor alike.  Sehkmet had barely been able to save him this time, being in such bad shape himself.

Another surge of dark energy flashed through him, a grunt escaping his lips.  How long were they going to be left down here?  He sighed, mind drifting unbidden to the last few battles they had had with the Ronins and eventually to how badly they had lost.  Cale was covered in a multitude of bruises and lacerations that he wouldn't tell anyone how he had come by.  _Probably Halo_, he thought darkly, wincing as a particularly strong surge of energy shot through him.

He scrubbed his dripping hair out of his face, careful not to get any of what looked like water in his eye.  He remembered all too well what this junk had done to Torrent's eyes, the boy staring blankly around the room, completely unable to find him despite the fact that he had been carrying a torch.  Squinting wildly, he was able to make out Cale's stiff form.

"Cale?" he called softly, sighing at the responding flinch.

Cale hadn't spoken to anyone since he had lost that last battle, returning with a huge dent in the side of his armor, spitting blood and vulgarities.  All Dais had been able to gather was that something else had been done to Halo and that the boy seemed quite furious about it.

"Sehkmet?" he tried, not expecting a response.

"Yea?"

Dais blinked in surprise.  He hadn't thought that Sehkmet was conscious yet, having had taken a direct hit from Hardrock's sure-kill without anyone to heal him afterwards.  He almost forgot what he had been going to say.

"What is it with Kayura?  I've never seen her this unnerved."

"Kayura?  That's easy.  Do you remember when the demons were rampaging through the Dynasty, shredding everything and everyone in the castle?"

Dais flinched.  Of course he remembered.  How could anyone forget a yearlong battle where your opponents were transforming and throwing spells around madly?

"Yea, I remember."

"She was attacked by that girl that was with the Ronins until Hardrock killed her.  I'm not sure of all of the details, but that girl plowed over her like she wasn't there.  Kayura has been trying to hide it, but she's covered in more scars now than all three of us put together."

"How would you know that?"

"Remember when I walked in on her in the shower once?  She wasn't chasing me across the Dynasty trying to kill me just for having seen her naked, you know.  She didn't want anyone to see the scars covering her.  You remember seeing the blood trailing through the corridors during that battle, right?  I followed one of them to Kayura's room.  When she told me to leave then when I tried to enter, I followed the trails the other way, right up to the entrance of the tunnels."

"How do you know it was the girl?"

"You saw her reaction every time she saw the girl.  Besides, have you seen any others that made it through until recently?  It has to have been her.  Nothing can survive in the tunnels for that long, especially not that frail thing that you told me Halo adopted."

Dais shrugged uneasily.  He had gone back to the field immediately after Cale had returned, only to see a deathly pale girl wrapped firmly around the boy from behind.  He hadn't been able to get a good look at the boy though, and wasn't sure what had terrified Cale so thoroughly.  The only thing that he had seen different was that the boy had turned from golden to gray, and he wasn't sure why that had made such a difference to Cale.

"Exactly where is Kayura?" Sehkmet asked slowly.

"I'm not sure.  I only know that Talpa was dragging her off to somewhere just before throwing us in here."

*     *     *

Kayura screamed and thrashed against her bonds, the thick cords sinking into her flesh and drawing blood from her bucking.  The energy that surged through her was indescribably excruciating, the small breaks between surges leaving her whimpering on the ground pitifully.

_The halls were empty of husk soldiers, all of the pathetic things having fallen on the first few days of fighting.  Kayura raised her Starlight Swords in front of her defensively as she stormed through the halls, eyes blazing with an unmatched fury.  She screamed out her sure-kill time after time, dropping twisted monstrosities in the halls, finishing them off with brutal slashes to their writhing forms._

_She rounded a corner, blinking in confusion at seeing a slender girl clad in billowing black clothes regarding her carefully.  Kayura snarled and stormed forward as the girl grinned insolently, sauntering forward arrogantly.  When the two were about a hundred feet from one another, the girl adopted a condescending smile as she darted forward, sprinting wildly on the balls of her feet.  At the last instant, she launched herself through the air at the startled woman in front of her.  Kayura screamed suddenly in recognition, remembering her last encounter with this girl on the battlefield, how she hadn't flinched when her leg had been run through with both of her swords._

_Kayura's throat froze in horror as the girl's form blurred in the air, her skin stretching wildly as it shifted to the deepest onyx, the once raven colored hair flashing into snowy waves, creating a startling mane around the lithe black form.  The dragon landed on her heavily, forcing her to the ground as thick claws shredded through her armor, peeling it back as though it were nothing more than thick putty.  The claws found her flesh just as easily, thick muzzle sinking into her throat, ripping back with brutal force.  A ridged tail unwound itself from her legs, leaving huge trenches where the sharp spines had contacted her flesh.  Just for good measure, the abomination smashed each of her feet through Kayura's limp form, maw twisting into a terrifying proximity of a grin upon seeing the blood splattering the hall and her flesh alike._

_She watched with glazed eyes as the dragon calmly rose, shifting into a human form once more as she headed down the tunnels silently, billowing clothes trailing blood down the halls, none of it her own._

_Kayura spasmed, forcing herself to move inch by grueling inch down the hall, towards her room and the potions she kept there.  Panting heavily through the gaping wound in her throat, she forced herself to rise partially to reach for the handle to her door, falling to the floor heavily when the door opened abruptly.  She drug herself over to her dresser, opening a secret compartment to which only she knew the location, fumbling for one of the delicate glass vials._

Going limp in her bonds, Kayura ceased bucking in time with the surges of energy burning through her veins.

*     *     *

_I never though I would be happy to look like this_, Sage thought dryly, occasionally looking around the table at the others.  He sighed softly, eyeing himself carefully.  _Better than being half wolf, anyway._

"I think that you should wake Rowen," Kento muttered in his direction.

"Not a chance.  No way am I going up there.  I live with him remember?"

"I'm cooking breakfast," Mia supplied hurriedly.

"I'm helping," Cye added quickly, refusing to make eye contact with Ryo.

"Why not Kento?" Ryo whined.

"Because I would like to live."

"He's right for once.  Rowen'll kill him."

"Traitor," Ryo muttered at Cye, glaring at him angrily.

"You can send the new girl if you can get her up," Sage offered helpfully.

Ryo paused for a moment, chewing his lower lip in consideration.  Shrugging, he walked into the living room, prodding the pale figure roughly, earning himself a loud snore.  He shook her a second time, crying out in horror when one of her wings unfurled suddenly, the three-fingered hand on the wing grasping his wrist.  He only had time to yelp indignantly before he was flung across the room by the still sleeping figure sprawled across the couch.  He scrambled to his feet scowling when he heard the distinctive click of a camera.

"Sage," he said calmly, eyeing his friend.  "You're dead."

Ryo shifted abruptly into a heavily muscled black wolf, darting after Sage, who was laughing too hard to run properly.  The two were quickly engaged in a chaotic tangle, rolling wildly around on the floor while Kento shook his head wearily, Cye doing his best not pound his forehead against the wall in frustration.  Mia merely groaned and dropped to a seat at the table, burying her head to her arms in a mixture of resignation and defeat.

Irritated by the noise of the two rolling about on the floor, the slender figure on the couch levered herself to her feet, making a face at the two combatants.  The small war being waged came to an abrupt halt when she leapt into the fray, earning a multitude of yelps when she proceeded to thrash about freely with hands and feet alike.  Rising quickly, she grinned at the two figures sprawled limply across the floor, groans rising at irregular intervals.  She glanced at Cye and Kento questioningly.

"Um, could you get Rowen up?" Cye asked quietly, swallowing nervously at her raised eyebrow.  He shifted to step away, eyes widening at her slowly forming grin.

The pale girl spun on the balls of her feet, trotting lightly upstairs.  Cye let out a deep breath, slumping into the nearest chair.  He hadn't been sitting there for more than a few moments when a loud ululating cry drifted down from Rowen's room.  Cye blinked at the girl's cry.  She hadn't uttered a single sound since Sage had pegged her with a stone the day she had arrived.  He exchanged a startled glance with Kento, wondering idly what to do.

White Blaze's roar rattled the windows in the house, Turriv's howl joining that of the great tiger after a moment.  Everyone was up and moving in an instant, tearing towards Rowen's room frantically, wondering what could cause all three of them to cry out in such panic.  Ryo was the first to dart into his friend's room, Sage right behind him.  The sight that met their eyes was one that stopped them both dead in their tracks.  Rowen lay bonelessly across his bed, sheets and heavy quilts pulled back to his ankles.  The entire mattress was soaked in thick, half-dried blood, dripping slowly onto the floor before the others' appalled eyes.

Turriv was already leaning over the deathly pale boy, tongue rasping across one of Rowen's pale forearms, a deep gash running from wrist to elbow.  Sage was by his best friend's side immediately, green flames surrounding him for a moment before he remembered numbly that he could no longer do anything.  Sage whimpered pitifully, rounding on the pale girl standing by the bed, eyes watering.

"Can you do anything?" he whispered, head drooping as she shook her head weakly, tears streaming unchecked from her eyes.

"What happened?" Mia cried out softly.

The girl dropped to the floor near the bed, fingers curling slowly around a small thick-bladed pocketknife.  She held it up to their disbelieving eyes.

"But why, Rowen?" Ryo breathed, cradling his friend's head gently.  Turriv glanced up at him for a moment before moving on to the boy's other arm, struggling with his weak healing abilities to undo the deep laceration.  The only answer he got was the slight fluttering of his friend's eyes before he passed out from blood loss.

*     *     *

"I knew he liked Mieren, but I never thought he would take it this hard," Ryo murmured, staring at the table as though it contained the answers he sought so desperately.  He sighed again, scrubbing his hands through his hair helplessly.

"None of us did," Sage muttered, glaring angrily at the floor.  Ryo flinched at the fury in his voice.  Sage blamed himself for not watching Rowen more closely, believing that he could have done something had he paid close enough attention to realize how badly his best friend was reacting to Mieren's death.

"We should assign a constant watch to make sure he doesn't try it again," Cye said softly, wondering how Kento was doing upstairs watching Rowen.  They were assuming there wouldn't be a problem since Rowen was unlikely to regain consciousness anytime soon.

"Sage, you know him better than any of us," Mia whispered.  "What's the best way to get someone to watch him that he won't chase off or kill?"

"Considering the state he's in right now, I'm not sure if there's anyone here that could survive if he woke up and went on a rampage."

"I was afraid of that," Mia mumbled.

"Can you shield him, Sage? I don't want to be in the line of fire when he wakes up, you know."  Ryo looked up hopefully but frowned at the expression on his friend's face, realizing the futility of his question.

"I can't do anything," he grumbled through a clenched jaw.  "All of my powers have been shot since what happened, or had you forgotten?"

"Well, I could watch him for awhile," Cye offered slowly.  "I think that I could stand up to him for a little while.  He may be stronger, but I know what I'm doing."

Sage's eyes narrowed dangerously as the pale girl flinched at Cye's last statement, sinking lower in her chair.  "What about her?"

"What do you mean?" Ryo asked carefully.

"Just that I don't think that Rowen would hit a girl for any reason.  Besides, if she's anything like Mieren or Kimen," he paused, choking on the name.  "Then she's impossibly strong."

"You're kidding, right?" Cye asked, shocked.  "I've seen her drop several times, not breathing or showing any signs of a heartbeat, and she hasn't even been here a day!  How can you call that strong?"

"She's fine," he muttered, glaring at her.  "I checked her one of the times she did that and found that she's not really having problems.  It's almost like a state of stasis.  She's conserving energy, nothing more."

"Well, I guess she could watch him.  We all trust her, right?" Ryo asked hesitantly, purposefully avoiding Sage's answering glare.

Without listening to any further conversation, the gaunt girl rose unsteadily, trotting out of the room, Turriv following after a moment.  The guys looked at each other uncertainly as a heavy thud resonated from upstairs, followed by a loud string of vulgarities.

"I see that Kento's no longer watching Rowen," Cye muttered, wincing as a door slammed upstairs.  Probably his.  He had been making a point of avoiding looking at or talking to anyone since Mieren's death, only coming out of hiding to raid the fridge or the meals once they were set out.  Raking his hands through lank russet hair, he started for the stairs.  He knocked on the door to his room hesitantly.

"Kento?"

"Go 'way."

Ignoring the command utterly, he slipped inside the room, pursing his lips when he saw his friend curled up on the bed, facing the wall.  Noting the trembling shoulders, he decided that Kento was crying again.  He had been taking this nearly as bad as Rowen, fainting when he had seen the deep lacerations in his friend's forearms.  Kento blamed himself for everything that had happened.  Despite what he said, Cye was convinced that the Dynasty had done something to him, probably just enough to push him over the edge, but nothing large enough to be overly noticeable.  Even though he hadn't delivered the deathblow, he couldn't seem to stop blaming himself for her demise.

"Kento," Cye began again, cutting off as Kento scrambled to his feet, hands clenched into fists, veins showing through the tightened skin.

"I've as good as killed Mieren and Rowen both.  There's nothing to talk about.  Go away, Cye."

"I've been thinking about it.  You may have been pissed beyond all reasoning, but you're into pounding whatever offends you into the ground, not killing it."

"I already told you that I wanted her dead."

"It's understandable.  You were just angry at her, with what she had done."

"And at what she was going to do."

"What do you mean 'going to do'?"

Kento shook his head stiffly.  "Nothing.  It didn't work anyway.  Whatever happens, happens.  I tried, though.  I tried."

Cye eyed his best friend as though he had just lost what little remained of his sanity before continuing slowly.  "Well, if you thought that she was going to hurt us, I can see why you'd try to kill her.  But you didn't do anything.  She delivered the final blow, not you."

Kento's eyes tightened momentarily before tears ran freely down his face.  He looked up after a moment, one indigo and one white eye locking with Cye's sea-blue.  He shook his head slowly, lowering himself back onto the bed.  Cye turned to leave, sighing softly.  That was probably the best he could get out of Kento for the time being.  He paused groggily just before passing through the doorway, eyes glazing slightly.

"Destroying a dimension and the faith in the light, a shadow of the darkest midnight will be reborn in the billowing fires of the brightest opal lights.  A sacrifice of blue fires shall lead to the freedom of the worlds."

Kento jerked at the words, knowing better than to say or do anything.  He knew from experience that it never helped.  The last time he had tried, he had only made things worse.

*     *     *

Rowen's eyes fluttered open slowly.  Groaning at the painful throbbing in his head, he rolled onto his side, freezing at the sight of a snowy figure curled up contentedly in a chair beside his bed.  He blinked confusedly, trying to determine if he had actually seen a flicker of white flames surrounding her for a moment before winking out under his curious gaze.  Blank white orbs regarded him intently from a snowy face framed by shimmering opal hair that seemed to reflect the slightest amount of light.  He was about to ask her why she was there when he was licked sloppily from chin to forehead.  He spluttered indignantly, shoving Turriv away from him with considerable force.

He struggled briefly to rise, blinking groggily when a steadying hand gripped his upper arm, holding him upright.  He frowned slightly, not knowing exactly what to think about the girl holding him.  She looked far too frail to be alive, let alone offering help.

Grimacing at the long, pale scars on his forearms, he rose unsteadily to his feet, wobbling in the direction of the bathroom.  He blinked in horror when both the girl and cougar followed him in.

"Get out," he wailed despairingly, surprised when the girl shrugged and ambled out into the hall with the cougar on her heels.

Scowling at the blood caked on his clothes and matting his hair, he filled the tub with temperate water, sliding in slowly.  Halfway through the process of washing the blood from his left arm, he glanced at the water speculatively, eyes narrowing.  He was about to slide under the water when the pale girl sauntered into the bathroom, grinning.

Rowen reddened to his hairline, scrambling for a washcloth to cover himself with.  He opened his mouth to order her out again when she dropped to her knees beside him, grasping his shoulders firmly.  She pushed him deeper into the water, scrubbing him gently with silken hands.  Rowen jerked out of her grip, sliding defensively to the far end of the bathtub.

"Now look," he hissed, freezing in shock when she glanced at the water then back up at him, waggling one finger slowly.  His eyes widened.  _How did she know?_  Her sad smile rendered him incapable of further thought or action.  She grasped his shoulders again, resuming work.  Rowen's senses quickly returned, his face burning with newfound humiliation.  He tried unsuccessfully to slip away from her again, caught by her surprisingly strong hands.  Wrenching free, he slid beyond her reach.

The girl make a face at him from across the tub, hands on her hips.  Shrugging indifferently, she stripped out of her clothes and dropped into the water with him, oblivious to his mortified yelp.  He tried to bolt out of the tub and back to his room, but was caught before he had his hand on the edge of the bathtub, a wiry tail wrapping firmly about his ankle.  The three-fingered hands on her wings snagged his wrists, pinning him soundly in place despite his bucking.  She proceeded to scrub him, mouth twisting into a grin as he reddened further at some of the places she decided to wash.

Rowen's face went from red to purple when he realized abruptly that he had a snickering audience, Ryo all but rolling on the ground.  They must have been attracted by his initial objecting wail to this treatment.

"Would you get her off of me?" Rowen wailed, bucking frantically.

"We'd love to help you…" Ryo managed to choke out around his laughter.

"But it looks as though you've already been given a hand," Sage finished, eyes tearing with unconcealed mirth as the girl ran the washcloth between Rowen's quivering legs, earning herself an indignant yelp.

White Blaze wandered into the fray, rolling his eyes at the scene before him before immediately pushing his way back out.  Turriv's mouth opened in an approximation of a grin before plopping down happily to watch the chaos.  In a matter of seconds, Kento joined the other three Ronins in watching their friend's plight, mouth twisting into a smile before sending a thanks to Turriv for the summoning message.  Mia spun to leave, shoulders quivering with poorly contained mirth, Cye following in her wake, trying unsuccessfully not to laugh hysterically.  Kento only grinned at them one last time before slipping silently out of the bathroom once more.

Ryo and Sage exchanged startled glances as Rowen's face suddenly became calm and meditative.  Ryo cleared his throat softly.

"Um, Rowen?  You okay?"

"I'm gonna do something to all of you for this," Rowen muttered darkly.  "Something bad."

"Well, as long as we're going to suffer, should I get the camera?" Sage asked Ryo slyly, grinning at Rowen's answering blanch.

*     *     *

Rowen scowled at the food before him on the dinner table, trying to ignore the worried glances that everyone was throwing in his direction.  Every now and then, he directed one of his glares at Kento, whose eyes grew larger and head sunk lower with each murderous look.  Ryo sighed.  It had taken a lot of work to get the both of them at the table at the same time, and it looked as though they were about to engage in a deadly free-for-all.

Rowen studied the knife in his hand, ignoring the steak on his plate for the moment.  In one fluid motion, he flung the blade across the table, directly at Kento's one good eye.  Kento didn't even have time to blink in response, let alone dodge.

The knife ended its flight abruptly as it contacted and impaled a slender white hand in its path.  Without bothering to inspect her hand, the girl presented the impaled appendage to Sage, flinching slightly as he hesitantly pulled the blade free.  She noted his guilty expression when he wrapped his cloth napkin around the wound, being unable to heal it.  She blinked at him in confusion before shrugging resignedly.  Looking up, she decided she had better intervene before Wildfire and Torrent tried to kill Rowen.

Rising smoothly, she plopped down in the boy's lap, fending off the oncoming blows and earning herself several annoyed and incredulous stares in the process.  She hadn't been seated there for more than a few moments before he pushed her to the floor, rising to return to his room.  Probably unable to bear sitting at the same table with Hardrock any longer, she decided.

Grumbling some archaic words under her breath that she was sure that the others wouldn't have appreciated had they understood her language, she lifted the blue-haired youth across her shoulders and headed for the living room, oblivious to his blows and protests.  Dropping him unceremoniously to the couch, she snatched up the remote and stared at it blankly.  Still grumbling to herself about the boys and now the remote in her hands, she sat down, effectively pinning Rowen to the couch from atop his back.  Snorting in defeat, she began jabbing buttons at random, grinning delightedly when the VCR came on.  Now for the television.

By that time, the others had migrated into the living room, dinner all but forgotten.  Kento rubbed a hand shakily across his face several times before settling down across the room from the person who seemed intent on killing him.  Grumbling loudly now, the girl tossed the remote to Cye, pointing demandingly at the television.  Cye passed off the remote to Ryo and moved over to talk to Rowen from where he continued to buck.

"For the last time, will you stop trying to kill Kento?  I've already told you that the Dynasty did something to him and it wasn't his fault."

"He told us that they didn't do anything to him.  He's a traitor and should be dealt with as such."  Rowen grunted as an elbow was casually slammed into his ribs courtesy of the snowy figure planted on his back.

Sage settled on the floor, carefully watching Rowen and the girl seated comfortably on his back.

"You're stronger than him, you know.  You don't have to bruise him up to prove it," Sage said softly, throwing the girl a meaningful look.  To his surprise, she grimaced, partially contrite but mostly shocked at his statement.  His eyes narrowed at the expression on her face.  It was almost pained.

She slid off of Rowen's back and pulled him to a sitting position, eyeing him warily lest he try to bolt for his room or jump Kento.  Surprisingly, he did neither, leaning back comfortably on the couch and relaxing completely, eyes drifting shut.

Sage and Mia both opened their mouths to ask if he was feeling well, keeping silent at the girl's upraised hand.  Mia immediately settled into a chair, Sage halfway sinking to the floor before blinking in surprise.  The girl hadn't been here but a day and a half and they were already trusting her with everything, obeying her slight gestures no less.  He drew a sharp breath, swallowing his comment at her sharp glare.  His eyes narrowed.  She had done it again!

Ryo had finally selected a tape and was preparing to start it, flipping off the lights in the room to keep from overloading the generator they had acquired shortly after the Dynasty's invasion.  He froze in surprise when he saw gentle flames licking at Rowen's form, invisible in the light but blatantly apparent in the darkness.

"Rowen?"

"What are you doing?" Sage inquired quietly, unnerved by his friend's glazed eyes and blank expression.

Cye dropped to the couch beside his friend to peer more closely at the sapphire flames that were building in intensity.  He gasped, eyes bulging.

"Rowen!  Stop it!" he yelled, delivering several resounding slaps across Rowen's face, his head rolling limply under the blows.  Turquoise flames sprang up around him, slamming into the darker blue only to be repelled in an instant.  A blue rope promptly seized and constrained him, dragging the young boy across the room as a shield formed around him.

"Do something!" Sage shouted at the girl, blinking at the slurred expression on her face.

"What's going on?" Mia queried unsteadily.

"Rowen's trying to kill himself again," Ryo murmured numbly, eyes fixed on the scene before him.  "He's too strong for any of us to stop."

"Except for her," Sage growled, indicating the snowy girl.  "But he has her shielded so that she can't do anything to stop him."

"Turriv!"

The massive cougar lumbered into the room as Kento called out for him, blankly studying the scene in front of him.

"He can't do anything!  He's not strong enough!" Cye called out from where he remained pinned to the wall.  "Sage, unshield the girl!"

Sage's eyes slid closed in helplessness.  He couldn't unshield her any more than he had been able to heal her hand a few minutes ago.  He looked up again at Mia's whimper, eyes welling when he became aware of his kanji flaring painfully on his forehead.  There was only one thing that could cause that.

"Oh God, no," Ryo breathed, dropping to the floor as Rowen slumped forward.

A rumble began somewhere deep within the earth, rising in volume and pitch to form into a single shriek emanating from a feminine throat.  Snowy flames shot wildly about the room, snapping the tied-off sapphire shields, ropes, and cables that had kept anyone from moving to assist Rowen.  Skeletal hands latched onto Rowen's shoulders, throwing him roughly to the floor.  Milky hands placed themselves directly over Rowen's heart.  He lurched feebly as raw energy coursed through him.

Eyes blazing, the girl jumped to her feet, waves of power radiating out from her gaunt form, shifting the furniture and causing the floor to ripple in protest.  With an enraged roar that had arisen from her loss, she released a blast of energy through the room, the shock of the blast bowling everyone from their feet.

When the blinding light faded, the other Ronins and Mia blinked in confusion and pain, eyes darting around the room wildly.  Every gaze fell to the same sight, a pale blue image of Rowen as he slowly headed for the front door, a snowy blur moving to block his path, a gaunt body sprawled across the floor lifelessly near the two effervescent figures.  The snowy blur solidified slightly into the figure of the girl as she snagged Rowen's arm, grappling with him frantically as she tried to force him across the room.

"What's going on?" Kento whimpered.

"Rowen shielded anyone who could possibly stop him, then separated his soul from his body," Sage whispered, eyes glazing as he watched the image of his best friend slowly fade from view.

"Is there anything you can do, Cye?" Mia asked desperately.

"Sage is the one familiar with stuff like this, not me!  I was barely able to tell what he was doing in the first place!"

"Sage?"

"I can't do anything!" Sage wailed as the two combatants vanished completely from the room.

The gaunt form by the door lurched strangely.  After a moment, the girl levered herself off of the floor with difficulty and sprinted unsteadily over to where Rowen lay on the floor, blasting him once more with raw energy before collapsing for the last time.  Rowen shuddered and twitched on the floor, drawing a rasping breath.  Sage pulled him off of the floor into his arms, using what little remained of his fragmented senses to examine his friend.

Rowen's eyes fluttered open before he could complete his inspection, and he lashed out blindly, clipping Sage in the jaw who in turn dropped him.  He tottered on his feet for a moment before lunging towards the girl's prone form, striking at her still figure feebly with what little remained of his power.  Cye slammed a shield around him before he could do anything.

"Damn you!" he spat, writhing viciously against the turquoise cords holding him.  "Let me go!  I want to see Mieren again!  Mieren!"

Sage dropped to the floor heavily a mere moment before Ryo, eyes watering painfully.  They both jumped as Cye moved forward and brutally slapped Rowen.

"Idiot!" he snarled at the older boy.  "Do you really think that anyone who truly cared for you would want you to follow them in death?"

At those words, Rowen went limp, tears streaming from his eyes.

_Mieren?  Mieren!  You want to see Mieren again?!  Idiot!_

Rowen scowled at the girl's words as she pushed herself shakily to her feet, matching him glare for glare.

"How could you possibly understand?" he snarled, bucking against the light blue bonds ensnaring him.  At those words, she glowered at him, pigment flooding through her skin as both her wings and tail vanished.  The gaunt body began to fill out, corded muscles covering her body.  The claws on her hands vanished along with her fangs, her cheekbones rising abruptly, giving her a sharper, predatory look.  Her eyes swirled into a deep jade as her snowy mane shifted into a shimmering onyx.

_Idiot!_ she snapped again.  _I _AM _Mieren!_

*     *     *

Sage rubbed his temples irately, feeling the onset of another migraine.

"What I don't understand is why you didn't say anything!" Kento snapped, his guilt having shifted into a cold fury.

_Nice to see you again too_, came the dry response.

"You could have saved us all a lot of agony if you had just said something!"

_Calm down, Wildfire.  I have my reasons for my actions._

"And those would be what?" Cye growled.

_I didn't say anything for awhile because I was low on energy and I felt that revealing my presence could infuriate Hardrock again as well as Halo._

"What about Rowen?" Ryo demanded, leaning forward menacingly.

_What about him?  He just fainted._

"That's not what I meant!  You know perfectly well that what he tried to do was because of your 'death'!  Why did you risk his life to keep Kento and Sage from getting mad at you?"

_His life was never in jeopardy until the stunt he pulled an hour ago.  I saw that things were getting out of control and revealed myself accordingly._

"Mieren?" Rowen called hesitantly, staggering into the room and refusing to meet anyone's eyes as he searched for a particular face.  Spotting her, he cried out joyously, darting around the mess in the room to embrace her.  Seeing Kento first thing as he released her caused his featured to degenerate into a scowl.  He tensed, preparing to jump the larger boy until Mieren grasped his arm lightly and shook her head.  Rowen stiffened and sat down on Cye's bed as closely to Mieren as he was able to without climbing into her lap.

_Don't attack Hardrock anymore.  He never hurt me in the slightest, you know._

"What!"

_Don't act so surprised, Hardrock.  After some of the things I've lived through, do you think that a little puncture like that could drop me?_

"I figured as much," Sage muttered, glancing around defensively at the glares leveled in his direction.  "I saw a couple of her memories, remember?  I told you guys about them, but you didn't believe me!"

Kento's eyes narrowed slightly.  "I guess I wasn't here at that time."

Mieren looked at him carefully.  _I can show you if you _really_ want._

"Trust me, Kento, you don't want to know."

"Mieren," Ryo began slowly, not entirely sure how to phrase his question.  "If you weren't hurt, then why did you appear to die like that?"

"It's a type of energy conservation.  I told you guys that too," Sage grumped.

_Yes.  Energy conservation sums that up nicely, but I think it important that you know why I so desperately needed to do so._

"You crossed the fifth dimension," Rowen murmured in horror.  "You told us that it took several demons or an incredibly skilled sorcerer just to open a gateway across the fourth."

_Turriv told you that, didn't he?_

"Yea.  Nearly snapped our minds in the process."

_Heh.  Took him awhile to learn how to communicate, huh?  Figures.  You guys aren't exactly easy to talk to, you know.  This takes a lot of energy and talent.  Ah, well, I suppose I should tell you the whole of it.  I was the next to strongest demon in existence, and it used to strain me terribly to open a gateway on my own.  Immediate teleportation through the dimensions is comparatively simple, only throwing yourself around, but creating an actual link between dimensions is hard.  I was calling out a spell that summoned energy, trying to gather enough to fold the fourth dimension along the fifth so that my dimension would touch this one for an instant, thereby allowing Turriv to come directly here._

"What do you mean that you _were_ the next to strongest demon?" Sage hissed, horrified by her use of the past tense.

_Well, as to that, I kinda fried something drawing that much energy.  I went well beyond all limits of what my physical form should be able to endure that I've determined from past experiences.  The majority of my powers are lost to me.  That is the other reason I hid who I was.  I didn't want you to rely on me in any fight to help you in any way.  I am no longer strong enough to do anything useful._

"How much weaker are we talking about here?" Kento demanded, earning himself infuriated stares from his five friends.

_Well,_ Mieren said slowly,_ the only people in this room that I can still overpower both physically and magically would be Mia and possibly Hardrock._

"What!!"  The question howled from six throats made Mieren wince.

_Roughly four fifths of my energies have been lost.  The sources that I once called upon for energy no longer answer._

"Then how did you beat us when we were roughhousing?" Ryo cried out.

_You may be stronger, but I have three thousand years experience fighting._

"Oh yea, that."

"Hey, Rowen," Sage called out slyly.  "How does it feel to have been seduced by an older woman?"

"Bite me," Rowen snapped.

"Isn't that Mieren's job?" Ryo chimed in.

_You're both asking for it.  Weak or not, I could still beat you._

"But you just said…"

_I said that I could beat you, not overpower you.  Remember Ronins, youth and strength will always lose out to age and skill._

"The age I'll accept, but as far as skill…"

_Care to back that up, Hardrock?_

Kento blanched, ducking his head defensively as he scooted to the furthest end of the room from Mieren, earning a few chuckles from Ryo and Sage, Cye groaning loudly.

"So what are you going to do?" Mia asked sympathetically.

_Train these idiots, what else?  I had intended to enter the last battle myself with the boys guarding me from outside interference and possibly provide a little help in the battle.  But it appears that I can no longer fight.  And if I can't fight, then they had damn well better learn how to get along in my absence._

*     *     *

Ryo leapt back frantically, writhing in midair to avoid the practice scythes that Mieren had fashioned from oak.  The things weren't sharp, but they left bruises that he preferred to avoid if at all possible.  Landing heavily, he swung his wooden katanas in front of him defensively, eyes wild.  Mieren landed several paces away from him lightly, silently, and began stalking him with a deadly, and thoroughly unnerving, grace.

Drawing a shaky breath, he leveled his practice katanas, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet.  Mieren darted in, swinging her scythes from opposite directions at horrendously different heights.  Ryo blocked frantically, jumping back to regain a little room to maneuver, yelping when the ground dropped away beneath his feet.

"That's not fair!" he wailed, eyeing his legs, buried to mid-thigh in the earth.

_Since when was this, or any other, dimension fair?_ Mieren asked slyly, grinning at his helplessness.  She delivered a few swats that would surely leave welts before releasing her hold on the earth and spinning on her heel.  _Who's next?_

Sage blanched.  She was looking in his direction and he didn't like it seeing as how she had just defeated Ryo in a matter of seconds.  He groaned when she grinned happily in his direction.

_It's your turn, Halo._

Sage muttered a few phrases under his breath that Ryo was immediately glad that he didn't hear.  He had recognized the first few words as the beginning of one of the oaths that Rowen liked to spit at them when they tried to get him up in the morning, and the rest of Sage's grumbling seemed to go downhill from there.  Ryo grinned as he brushed some of the dirt off of his jeans.  He couldn't really blame him considering how badly he had just been beaten.

Sage walked forward hesitantly, hefting the oak no-dachi she had fashioned for him, amazed by the perfect balance of the crude instrument.  He didn't have time for further contemplation as Mieren charged him.

Backing away rapidly, Sage managed to deflect the first onslaught of attacks, his no-dachi clacking loudly against her scimitars.  Occasionally, one of her blows would slip through, welting his skin painfully.  He growled and attempted to counterattack, blinking in surprise when she leapt into the air, landing lightly on his back.  Her legs curled about his ribs as her arms wrapped about his, crossed scimitars resting his neck in a fashion that could decapitate him it he dared to move.  If the blades had been real, Sage was sure he would have fainted on the spot.

_Never leave your back unprotected._

"Thanks for the warning," he muttered testily, straining not to let his throat move.  A hair more pressure with those things and they would puncture his skin, practice blades or no.  He sighed in relief as she jumped down, turning gratefully to let someone else have a turn at getting beaten into the ground.

_Where do you think _you're_ going?  I'm not done with you yet._

"Wonderful," he growled, raising his no-dachi defensively.

Mieren started forward, swinging one scimitar in a relatively slow arc, which Sage promptly deflected.  His eyes narrowed.  What in the hell was she doing?  A blind man could have avoided that blow.

A second swing brought him out of contemplation, this one slightly faster than the last.  Mieren began a series of blows, increasing her speed minimally each time he successfully deflected the attack.  She stepped back suddenly, eyeing him with great interest.

_You are stronger and faster than I am, boy.  Can't you do any better than that?_

"And what was that the other night about age and skill?" Sage panted miserably.

_You are already a skilled swordsman.  I only took up these weapons about a millenium ago, myself.  I haven't the skill with these as you credit me for._

Without waiting for a response, Mieren darted forward again, earning a squawk from Sage as her oak scimitar left a new welt across his ribs.  He countered clumsily, amazed that she didn't stalk off in disgust at his pathetic maneuver.

Mieren backed off about three paces, waiting for him to regain his balance and footing before advancing again.  Her next series of attacks sent him in a constant retreat, whipping his no-dachi about frantically.  Ever so slowly, her attacks picked up speed.  He was so consumed with keeping her scimitars away from himself that he failed to notice his friends' incredulous stares.

Suddenly, Sage saw an opening.  He slashed with his no-dachi cautiously, hoping that this wasn't a ploy to unbalance him or move his weapon beyond any defensive position.  Mieren fell back, gasping and holding one hand to her ribs.  Sage followed her downward gaze, jaw dropping as he saw the blood oozing from between her fingers.  She retreated from him another few steps, dropping her scimitars and collapsing to the ground.

Sage darted forward, lifting her gently off of the ground as he tried to see how badly he had hurt her.  Her legs shot out to wrap around his arms suddenly, a silver dagger appearing in her hands from some sheath hidden somewhere beneath her billowing clothes.  The blade was at his throat before he had time to blink.

_Never approach an enemy with your guard down, even if they are injured or unarmed.  They may not be as injured as you think and may have other weapons hidden about them._

"You tricked me!" Sage wailed.

_Not really.  You actually managed to strike a blow.  I hadn't intended that part, I just built on it.  I must admit that I am impressed, Halo._

Mieren dismissed him absently with a wave of her hand, eyeing the slash in her ribs with great interest.  Sage happily moved away from her back towards the others, limping slightly from where she had gotten in a few good hits of her own.

"How in the hell did you do that?!" Ryo all but screamed.

Sage blinked.  "Do what?"

"You were moving so fast we couldn't see anything but a blur as the two of you went at it.  And you hit her too," Kento whispered in awe.  So far no one had managed to do anything more than accumulate a mass of bruises out of these training matches over the past week.  Seeing Mieren struck had created incredulous expressions throughout the observers.  Mieren, however, seemed not to notice.

_Hardrock.  It's your turn._

Kento groaned and curled up into a defensive ball, knees hugged tightly to his chest, shoulders quivering.

_It's your turn._

Kento shook his head violently, shrinking in on himself.

_Get over here.  NOW._

Kento whimpered and shook his head meekly, glaring angrily when Sage and Ryo snickered.

_Get over here or I will appoint you official food taster…_

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Kento said, perking up.

…_on the week that I have Cye teach Rowen how to cook._

Kento squawked in horror, leaping to his feet and racing to the field to the uproarious laughter of Sage and Ryo.

Raising his wooden tetsubo, Kento eyed Mieren warily.  She slashed at him with one of her scimitars slowly, a blow that he easily deflected with a quick twist of his wrists.  The next swing was much faster, but Kento managed to turn it aside with a bit of effort.  Mieren took two large steps back, eyeing him in careful deliberation.  Rising to the balls of her feet, she began to stalk him as she had her previous two opponents, her scimitars waving menacingly in front of her.

_I think that I'll force-feed you Rowen's cooking for the next month if you don't put a bit more effort into this._

Kento twitched at the threat.  Knowing her, she was serious.  He jumped forward, swinging his tetsubo like a quarterstaff, the ends of his weapon blurring and emitting a soft hum.  Mieren turned aside his first onslaught of blows without a problem, raising one eyebrow at him questioningly.

_Are you, or are you not, the Warrior of Strength?_

Kento threw all of his reserves into one last attack, screaming furiously as he charged forward.

_The mighty war cry,_ Mieren taunted as she jumped to the side, kicking his feet out from under him as he passed.  She squawked in horror and surprise as Kento spun in his fall to slam his staff into the back of her knees, grinning to himself contentedly.  _You fell on purpose!_ Mieren accused, grimacing at him balefully from her seat on the ground.

"Well, of course!  I've seen you fight before.  That appears to be one of your favorite moves, so why shouldn't I take advantage of it?"

_I'm just surprised you had the brains to try that._

Mieren grinned at Kento's indignant spluttering, pulling him to his feet as she started back to where Ryo and Sage were seated.

"That's not fair!" Ryo wailed.  "You went easier on them than you did me!"

_Whatever do you mean, Wildfire?_

"You slowly built up speed so that Sage could get used to it and you stayed moving slow enough so that Kento could counter!  You moved too fast for me to even see you!"

Mieren sighed.  _I went slow enough that you should have been able to follow.  You are a lot faster than you think.  If you would like, I will show you,_ she offered.

Ryo jumped up, glaring at her angrily as he stormed over to the practice area.

"He's nuts," Kento murmured to Sage, who nodded agreement numbly.

Mieren raised her scimitars as Ryo leveled his katanas.  Starting simply, Mieren swung at him in a series of simple arcs that he deflected easily, slowly speeding her movements methodically.  Ryo's eyes began to tighten with strain as he leapt back from a particularly vicious swing, barely blocking a disemboweling blow with his katanas.  He blinked suddenly as the area surrounding him darkened, scowling at Mieren's shadowed form.  He didn't bother to tell her not to cast any darkness spells, merely shifting his eyes to a glowing crimson instead.

Mieren's eyes flashed ruby an instant after his.  Scimitars crashed deafeningly against his katanas as she increased her speed further forcing him back a few steps before he learned how to compensate.  Ryo quivered with strain.  The muscles in his arms and legs were burning fiercely, unused to leaping about in this fashion.  The two combatants pulled apart suddenly as scimitars and katanas locked, the wooden blades shattering from the impact.

Ryo blinked the sweat out of his eyes, breathing hard.  He froze when her realized that everyone had been watching him fight for some time now.  He shifted his eyes back to normal when he noticed the sunlight burning his vision.  That Kento and Sage were watching him was not the surprise.  Rowen and Cye had ceased their practice of energy manipulation to watch him, jaws hanging slack.  Mia and the two large cats were beside them, similarly astonished expressions painting their faces.

"What?" Ryo panted.

Kento shook his head slowly.  "You're faster than Sage," he whispered in utter disbelief, eyes bulging.  "He was only slightly blurred when he jumped around.  I could barely make out either of you."

"I could only keep track of where the two of you were by your eyes," Rowen muttered in shock.

"Why did you shift your eyes anyway?" Cye asked softly, knowing full well how badly the light burned when his eyes were glowing crimson.

"It was dark," Ryo said defensively, glaring at Mieren.

_Wasn't me doing that, you know.  If one of us moves fast enough, things grow darker.  But this only applies to our kind from what I've heard.  You are much faster than even I had credited you for.  I must say, I am impressed._

Sage blinked.  "How fast are we talking about?  Nothing like that happened when I fought you."

_Well, you were only moving maybe half the speed that Wildfire attained towards the end.  If he can move that quickly_, she paused, lips pursing thoughtfully as she regarded him, _you should be able to go much faster.  Whether you like it or not, at the moment you are physically the strongest in the group.  Perhaps you would fight better if I pissed you off like I did Wildfire and Hardrock._

Sage blinked in horror.  Piss him off?  He most definitely didn't like the sound of that considering how Mieren's mind worked.  He stepped back defensively, shaking his head frantically.

_You can do better than you did and you know it.  Get ready while I find another weapon,_ Mieren ordered, trotting towards the nearest tree.  The Ronins watched in fascination as she placed her hands on the tree, sending pearly flames coursing through the thick bark.  The tree shuddered, a hole opening under her hands.  Searching fingers entered the opening presented in the trunk of the oak, pulling back with a hilt in each hand.  The gaping hole in the side of the tree closed as Mieren pulled her new scimitars completely free, grinning at the slack-jawed stares aimed in her direction.

_Are you ready, Halo?_

"Like it matters," Sage muttered dryly, raising his no-dachi.

Mieren leapt forward, swinging her new scimitars viciously, not bothering to start slowly this time like he had anticipated.  Sage barely had time to counter, retreating rapidly.  Mieren scowled at his retreat, slashing at him faster and with more force, slipping past his guard to leave a huge welt on his side.  He gasped and edged back unsteadily, eyes narrowing.  Growling angrily to himself, he launched an attack, his weapon blinking out of his vision when he swung his arms forward.  The only indication he had that he still held his sword was the answering clack coming from Mieren's scimitars.  Sage licked his lips nervously.  How could she block something that was moving too quickly to be seen?  Drawing an irritated breath between his teeth, he tried again, ignoring Mieren's amused smirk.

Mieren blurred slightly and vanished from view almost completely.  Almost.  Sage spun around desperately, following her form the best he could, unwilling to let her get behind him again.  He brought his sword up to block her, grinding his teeth as she arched an eyebrow insolently, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

At the next exchange of blows, Sage abruptly noticed that the area surrounding him was growing distinctly darker.  He hid his shock that he had indeed reached Ryo's speed as Mieren charged him again, scimitars coming in low from opposite directions.  Sage leapt over her, landing skillfully and swinging his no-dachi with all the force he could muster, scowling as it was blocked.

Jumping to her feet, Mieren began a routine of slashes and jabs that Sage was hard pressed to counter, the muscles in his arms going watery.  He ignored the burning in his muscles as he began to swing his enormous sword in an intricate series of swirls and slashes that was almost impossible to block, oblivious to the fact that the world around him had altered slightly.  The darkness around him deepened for a moment, almost to complete blackness, before the entire area lit up slightly as though it was bathed in full moonlight.  Sage noted absently that Mieren's eyes were shining a deep crimson.

Sage overshot one of his jumps, slamming into a tree.  The trunk seemed to liquefy right as he hit it before shattering into splinters as he splayed his legs to stay on his feet.  He recovered just before Mieren reached him, no-dachi meeting scimitars in a deafening crack.  Sage shifted to swing again when he noticed that both his no-dachi and her scimitars where in tiny slivers scattered across the yard.  As Mieren spun to head back to the others, he relaxed and turned to follow, freezing at his friends' expressions.

"What?" he asked slowly, recognizing the shock on their faces but not understanding the worry that flowed from them.

"Oh God, Sage.  Not again," Mia whispered.

Sage stared at them blankly for a moment before understanding the significance of her statement and looking down.  His eyes bulged as he noticed for the first time that he was covered in thick gray fur, his shirt hanging in tatters from his shoulders.  He scrubbed his hands through his hair immediately out of habit, wincing at the talons tipping his fingers and the muzzle distorting his face.

"Oh, Mieren," he called out sweetly.  "I think you forgot something."

_You take care of it.  Ask Ryo if you need help.  I'm tired._

"You can understand him?" Ryo asked incredulously.

_Of course I can.  I don't understand your language in the slightest, you must have realized that by now.  I only know what you idiots are saying by interpreting the simultaneous telepathic signals that you send out without realizing it.  I pick apart the thoughts and feelings and put words to them, same as you do in listening to me._

"And how exactly am I supposed to ask Ryo for help?" Sage growled angrily.

_Figure it out._

"What happened?" Rowen asked slowly.

_Well, in trying to keep up with me, he called upon more energy than he could safely handle, and his body shifted to accommodate it so he wouldn't hurt himself._  She paused, looking at Ryo thoughtfully.  _If you are who I think you are, Wildfire, you should be able to move a lost faster than Halo just did._

He didn't bother to respond to her last comment, simply growling in her direction and folding his arms defiantly.  There was absolutely nothing that she could do to make him fight again today.  His seething temper and seeing Sage in his current state proved to be enough of a distraction to keep him from recognizing the significance behind her statement.

"Ryo?" Sage called out softly, enunciating the one word with painstaking care.

Ryo's head snapped up.  He had most definitely understood that.  Rising slowly, he started for one of Sage's favorite trails behind Mia's house, motioning sharply for his friend to follow.  This could take awhile.  Sage caught his shoulder before he had taken three steps.

_Transform.  I'll watch and see if I can pick it up, _Sage said, straining from the effort of sending the thoughts directly to his friend.  Ryo's shoulders went rigid.

"When did you learn how to do that?"

_Just now._

"Okay, but not here.  Come on, this might take a bit of time.  It took me weeks to figure it out."

Sage grimaced.  _I intend to figure it out quicker than that.  I have no intention of running around like this, you must realize.  It's bad enough as it is.  I don't need this._

Ryo glanced at him quickly, his concern blatant to anyone but a blind man.  Sage would kill him if he said anything comforting, so he tried the opposite approach.

"Whatever are you complaining about?  Mieren thinks you look cute like that."

Sage didn't say anything, settling on making a face at him.  _This is far enough._

Ryo loosened his shirt, grateful that it was too big for him, hanging halfway down his thighs.  Shucking off his jeans, he looked up at Sage.

"I'm ready, so pay attention.  I don't want to do this all night."

Sage watched raptly as Ryo began to shift to and from a wolf, a green glow enveloping them both as he strained his senses to observe what he was doing more closely.  After a moment, Ryo made a pathetic attempt to straighten his hair.

"Well?"

Sage closed his eyes as he concentrated, entering a near-meditative state.  He sighed noisily.  _We might be here for awhile._

*     *     *

Mia and the three remaining Ronins watched concernedly as Sage followed Ryo off into the trees.  After a moment, Kento directed an irritated scowl in Mieren's direction, ignoring her answering shrug.

"And you couldn't have done anything?" Kento griped.

_He has to learn eventually._

"Such compassion," Cye muttered, making a face when she grinned slyly.

_Speaking of learning, how are you two coming along?_

Cye twitched at the question.  Rowen glanced at him briefly before his shoulders slumped in resignation.

_Then I suppose it's your turn._

Kento breathed a deep breath in utter relief, eternally grateful that she was done with her training for the moment.  He was too tired to be jumping about like that.  As if sensing his thought, Mieren spun abruptly to face the two great cats observing them.

_Turriv, White Blaze, I want you two to help Hardrock train.  Get to it._

Obediently, Turriv hopped to his feet and began slowly circling Kento, White Blaze following more slowly.  Kento let out a distressed wail as he shifted away from the two massive cats warily, appealing to Mieren in what he knew would be a futile effort.

"Can't we at least have lunch before continuing?"

_We ate breakfast less than an hour ago._

"But I'm hungry!"

_Tough._

Mieren approached Rowen and Cye stiffly, lowering herself to the ground with a difficulty that the two Ronins noted carefully.

"You shouldn't push yourself that hard.  You might hurt yourself," Rowen said softly, brows furrowing in concern.

_Don't worry, Rowen.  I'll be fine in a few minutes.  Now, have you mastered those energy manipulation techniques that I showed you earlier, or must I show you again?_

"We know how they're supposed to go, we just can't do it," Rowen said quickly, hoping that she wouldn't insist on another demonstration.  She was far too weak to be performing half the stunts she was pulling, and he didn't want her expending any more energy than was strictly necessary.

_Go as far in the exercise as you can.  I'll see where you're having problems._

Rowen and Cye glanced at one another, the latter nodding slowly.  Cye was the more skilled of the two in following the paths of the glowing strands of energy, and so was the one to begin, hoping that Rowen would be able to pick up a little more by watching him.  If Mieren tried to teach them again… Cye grimaced.  Her lessons were generally quite painful and he didn't care for another one.

A soft bluish glow enveloped Cye as his eyes slid shut in concentration.  The turquoise flames vanished abruptly as Mieren slapped him in the back of the head.  Hard.  He glared at her angrily.

_Keep your eyes open.  You must practice as you would do it on the battlefield.  If you fight with your eyes closed like that, then you will surely get worse than that.  Now do it right, Torrent._

"Why is it that you only call Rowen by his name?" Cye grumped unhappily.

_The names in this dimension are hard to remember, but your armors are known to me and their power signatures label you quite clearly.  I only know Rowen's name because I know him better than I know the rest of you.  Perhaps if you slept with me I might remember your name… _Mieren trailed off at Cye's answering blush while trying her best not to snicker at Rowen's infuriated glare.

To forestall further conversation on that matter, Cye began again, careful to keep his eyes open this time lest he receive another lump on the back of his head.  Light blue flames rose delicately around him swirling gently as he quivered with the strain of what he was about to try.  Fragile threads of energy separated themselves from Cye, moving to an empty region in front of the boy.  He began gnawing his lower lip as he concentrated on forming the strands into an unsteady weaving that threatened to collapse at any moment.  He grinned nervously as he managed to get all of the strands in place without dropping the weaving.

_Get rid of that thing!_

Cye looked at her in askance at this statement.  And what exactly was he supposed to do with it?

_I can't do anything with it!  You're holding it!_

Cye blanched at the fear in her mind.  Shrugging in helplessness, he moved to deposit the flickering new of power across one of the nearby trees.  Mieren shrieked as he moved it closer to the nearest tree.

_Not that close!_

Startled, Cye dropped the weave, the glowing fibers ensnaring themselves among the branches for a moment.

_Shield yourselves!  Now!_

Rowen and Cye complied immediately, sapphire and turquoise shields springing up around them instinctively.  Turriv threw his head back suddenly, eyes shimmering a deep yellow as a matching golden shield sprang up around himself, White Blaze, and Kento.  A dome of white fire sprang into existence around Mia as thick membranous wings appeared behind Mieren, folding around her protectively as she flattened herself to the ground just before the world went white.

Rowen blinked hazily, trying to bring the world into focus.  Spots danced wildly before his eyes for a few moments while his vision cleared, revealing the devastation around him.  His eyes widened in horror and disbelief at the leveled trees and charred landscape, the only areas escaping the carnage were those that were surrounded by shields.  The entirety of the outside of Mia's house was horribly scorched and blackened, several windows melted or blown out.

"Good God, Cye, what did you do?"

"What she showed us."

"That was _not_ what she showed us earlier."

Cye blinked.  "It wasn't?" he asked slowly, throat tightening.  He most distinctly remembered seeing the spell before.

Rowen was about to say something more on the matter when Mia screamed.  He and Cye had only to follow the direction of her gaze to see what had unhinged her so thoroughly.

"Tell me that isn't what I think it is," Cye whispered, looking at Rowen's stricken expression.

Rowen didn't bother to choke out a reply as he stumbled forward, falling to the ground near a mass of horribly charred flesh where Mieren had fallen.  He reached out with a shaking hand to search for a pulse, tears streaming down his face when he couldn't even tell where her throat was in the shapeless mass before him.

Turriv's howl shattered the silence, White Blaze's deeper roar following instantly.  Kento looked around, face paling.

"Where are Ryo and Sage?" he whispered.

"Right here," Ryo called as he darted across the charred remains of the lawn, Sage following closely behind him.  Both of them looked decidedly singed, hair and clothes alike melted onto their skin.  Kento winced at Sage's appearance.  Not only was he still in a form that resembled a bad cross between a werewolf and a centaur, but most of his fur was a melted mess, crackling slightly as he ran.

"Who all is hurt?" Ryo asked quickly, squinting vainly at the area surrounding him.  Kento understood that quite well.  The explosion had been bright.

"Besides you and Sage, just Mieren," Kento said softly, motioning towards the unmoving mass of flesh Rowen was huddled over.

Sage paled under his fur as he saw what his friend was looking at.  It wasn't even identifiable.  He reached out slowly to grasp Rowen's shoulder, pulling his best friend away from the carnage.

"What happened?" he asked softly, relieved that he had at least figured out how to manipulate his vocal cords well enough to speak.

"Cye cast a spell that I've never seen before," Rowen murmured shakily.

"It did _this_?" Sage asked, completely dumbfounded.

Rowen nodded silently.  "Mieren shielded Mia, but I don't think she had the strength to protect herself when…" he trailed off suddenly, eyes widening.

"What is it?"

Rowen didn't answer, darting forward to lay one hand on the molten flesh in front of him.  Sage's shoulders sagged as Rowen lowered his head, quivering violently.

_Get the hell offa me!  That HURTS!_

Sage jumped back, eyes wide.  Ryo cried out as he and Kento were nearly trampled in his friend's frantic backpedaling.  Sage exchanged a nervous glance with Cye, swallowing roughly.

"Tell me that you heard that too," Sage muttered.

Cye nodded.  "I thought I was imagining things.  It's rather nice to know that I haven't gone stark raving mad just yet."

"Turriv?" Kento called hesitantly.

_I can't do anything for this.  My healing abilities are quite limited.  Lacerations are about my limit.  I was always horrible in dealing with burns of any sort._

The molten mass that was Mieren bucked suddenly as she rose to her feet, pushing melted flaps of skin away from her gingerly.

_So much for wings_, Mieren muttered, grimacing in agony as she pushed another flap of melted flesh away from her.  _Sage?  Would you care heal me now?_

Sage blinked uncertainly, moving back slowly.  "I can't.  I haven't been able to since what happened…" he trailed off, still uncomfortable discussing what she had done to him.

_Idiot.  You're drawing on the wrong energy source, that's all.  Before, you used your own personal energies to heal someone, which undoubtedly took a lot out of you.  You are now a demon, and as such you need to draw power from your demonic heritage.  That is the part of you that gives you your strength.  Rowen or Torrent could heal me if they knew the spells and how to draw the external energies like a sorcerer would._

At the words 'demonic heritage', Sage bristled in a cold fury, golden eyes narrowing dangerously as he advanced on her angrily.

_Temper, temper, Halo.  You need to learn how to use your powers if you or this world are to survive._

Sage flinched, closing his eyes and nodding numbly.  Placing one hand gingerly on one of her limp wings, he began to concentrate fiercely, vaguely aware that emerald flames were whipping around both of them wildly.  He searched for the furthest recesses of his mind for what he had walled off so completely when he had first become a demon, feeling for the first time the source of his incredible energies.  His eyes snapped open when he heard astonished gasps rise from around him.

He looked up in shock as he realized that Mieren's wings were completely healed, furled comfortably around her shoulders.  Reaching out to see if he could do something for Ryo's burns, he received his second shock in so many seconds.  His hands were back to normal.  A quick check confirmed that he was not longer in a wolf-like state.  He grinned slowly.

_I appreciate the work on my wings, and I understand that you want to help your friend,_ Mieren said slowly, humor filling her thoughts.  _But hadn't you better put on something, Halo?_

Sage looked at her in confusion for a moment before he realized that for the first time in a long while, he was shorter than she was.  It only took an instant for him to realize that he was human again, not to mention completely naked.  Cheeks flaming, he darted up the fields from the practice grounds to the house, unable to keep from grinning even in his embarrassment.

*     *     *

"SAGE!!!"

Sage only grinned at the imperious demand, peering into the full-length mirror in the bathroom contentedly.  This was the first time in weeks that he had been able to dress properly, and he wasn't about to go out anywhere without making absolutely sure that he looked perfect.

"Other people need to use the bathroom!" Kento cried out, practically dancing in the hall beside Ryo.

"Sage!  Get out of there or I swear we're going to do something to you that surpasses your worst nightmares," Ryo called out angrily in a strained voice.

"I'll be out in a minute!"

"That's what you said an hour ago!" Kento wailed.

"Then you can go piss in the bushes beside the house, for all I care.  I'll come out when I'm good and ready."

"Sage…" Ryo began angrily, trailing off suddenly.

Sage blinked in confusion, looking warily at the door.  Ryo and Kento had stopped complaining, which meant that they were up to something.  There was no other explanation.  After working with his hair for another few minutes without hearing anything further from the two, he decided that they had given up and taken his suggestion.  Grimacing at the thought, he proceeded to smooth his hair into place with painstaking care, grinning every time he caught his reflection in the full-length mirror.

_Halo._

"Oh shit," he whispered, realizing suddenly where Ryo and Kento had been.

_Open up, Halo._

"I'll be out in a minute!" he cried frantically, staring at the door in horror.  He wasn't completely dressed, after all.

_Have it your way_, Mieren's amused thought was the only warning he had.  Sage squeaked as she slid through the door, the wood rippling at her passage for a moment before solidifying once more.  His eyes bulged at the sight of her, nude except for a short towel wrapped around her gaunt frame, not completely hiding all it should.  Ignoring him completely, she tossed the towel onto the floor and hopped into the tub, water rising out of nowhere as she raised her hands, white flames licking her palms.  Throwing open the door, he darted down the halls in his boxers and undershirt, trying to ignore his friends' laughter at the ridiculous expression he knew to be on his face.

Safe in his own room, Sage grinned at the shouts echoing down the hall.

"Mieren!  We need the bathroom!"

_I'll come out when I'm good and ready._

*     *     *

Cye sat on his bed, hands folded in his lap as he stared intently at the floor.  Rowen cowered in a similar position on Kento's bed, face twisting with guilt despite the fact that he hadn't done anything.  Cye's jaw trembled as he unwillingly remembered every word of the tongue-lashing he had received for the last few hours.  He exhaled raggedly, thankful that Ryo had interrupted Mieren's raving fury to get her to help him pry Sage out of the bathroom, physically if necessary.

"Mieren!  We need the bathroom!"

_I'll come out when I'm good and ready._

Unbidden, a ghost of a grin came to Cye's face, twitching his lips upwards ever so slightly.  Looking up for the first time since earlier that morning, he locked eyes with Rowen.

"I don't think she's coming back for a while," Cye murmured.

Rowen grinned weakly.  "Maybe she'll have calmed down by the time she comes back," he said hopefully.  She had told them both just before she left that they were to stay there until she returned.  No matter if her absence was two minutes or two years, they were not to leave the room.

"Sorry for getting you in trouble too."

"It's okay.  She's yelling at you for the most part, anyway."

"Really?  I haven't noticed," Cye muttered dryly.

"You never did say where you learned that spell."

"That's because I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Rowen asked incredulously.

"Same way that I learned the Exodus spell, I suppose.  You remember that, don't you?" Cye paused, waiting for Rowen to nod.  "Well, then you should remember that immediately afterward, you cast a spell too.  How did you know that one?"

Rowen paused, racking his brain for information.  "I have no idea."

They both froze, their conversation abruptly interrupted as Mieren walked into the room, grinning into the hall behind her.

"Kento!  Get out of the bathroom!"

"I'll come out when I'm good and ready!"

Mieren rolled her eyes at Ryo's antics in the hall, her grin slipping when she turned to regard the two Ronins in the room with her.

_Now,_ she began slowly, glaring angrily at Cye,_ where did you learn that?_

"I don't know," he whimpered.

_Same way you learned the Exodus spell, yes?_

Cye jumped as she reached the same conclusion he and Rowen had a moment ago, wondering if she had been listening to their conversation.

_I thought as much.  I guess I should have expected this, seeing as how you knew the words to the Exodus spell._  Mieren paused, looking at each of them meaningfully._  The two of you might as well know that there are two ways to cast every spell.  The first is to call out a tangled mess of archaic words that no one in their right mind can remember.  The second is to lay the patterns of energy manually, such as I have been teaching you for the past week.  Speaking a spell aloud is slower, but takes less energy from the caster, thus putting more power into the spell.  Laying the cords of energy into a pattern is faster, and probably easier for beginners to learn, especially when they know nothing of the ancient languages from another dimension._

When Mieren paused, Rowen looked up slowly, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.  "It's not like you to give out information with either being forced into it or having a good reason.  What does casting have to do with these spells?"

_You're sharp, I'll give you that,_ Mieren murmured wryly.  _Torrent cast the Exodus spell on the streets while you were here, at the house.  You suffered from the aftereffects of the spell, so you had better know what I'm talking about.  What Torrent cast earlier was the woven version of the Exodus spell._

"Then why didn't anything happen?"

_You call being fried 'nothing'?_

"I meant to us," Cye grumped.

_Oh.  That.  You, Rowen, Hardrock, Mia and the guardians' companions were all shielded.  As for Wildfire and Halo, I'll explain it only once, so I want you all to be gathered when I do so._

Rowen exchanged a nervous glance with Cye, wondering what could be bad enough that she only wanted to have to tell them once.  He was about to ask when something struck him.

"What do you mean 'the guardians' companions'?"

_Turriv and White Blaze._

"Turriv, I'll accept without question, but what about White Blaze?"

_You mean you didn't know?  Very well.  I'll make that part of my explanation later tonight._

Rowen and Cye watched Mieren walk out of the room, sighing in relief that she hadn't continued ranting at them as she had earlier.

_And one more thing, _she added as she sauntered into the hall, _don't weave any spell, especially the Exodus spell, without knowing exactly what it is and what it will do.  Next time, I may not be there to help you._

*     *     *

"Okay," Rowen stated loudly, drawing everyone's attention to him.  "Mieren, you said you would explain a few things at dinner.  We're at the table, and I'm tired of waiting."

"About what?" Ryo asked slowly.

"About what happened to you and Sage when I cast that spell earlier.  Something about White Blaze and Turriv too," Cye said slowly, turning to face Mieren expectantly.

_Demanding, aren't you?_

"When it comes to my friends, then yes," Rowen said softly, a dangerous glint entering his eyes.  Mieren glanced at him for a moment, raising one eyebrow slowly.

_Very well.  To begin, you remember when I said that I could recognize your armor?_  She paused, waiting for Cye to nod.  _I can sense its very presence about you.  The armors are from my dimension, after all._

"WHAT!"

Mieren winced at the shout rising simultaneously from six throats.

_Well, created by someone from my dimension, anyway.  It has a very distinct energy signature about it.  That is why the creatures in the tunnels could sense it so well.  They were created by the same being, no doubt.  I believe that being to be my original opponent, your opponent now._

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Ryo whispered.

_May I finish my explanation?_

"Sorry."

_Those mystical armors you possess were created by indescribable magical energies.  The kanji each of you possesses reflects the type of mental energy used to create your individual armor.  When I first saw the lot of you, I recognized the type of energy radiating from you and, knowing its source, tried to escape.  Being unable to get away, I tried to kill the whole lot of you, wounded though I was at the time._

Mieren paused again, looking around the table at the six attentive faces regarding her intently with rapt expressions.

_These energies are what protected you from some of the things that have happened to you.  They are the reason why Torrent and Rowen were able to hold out so long in the pools and why they can now control magical energies that your kind should not be able to handle, the pools having awakened their powers.  They are the reason why Wildfire never became contagious like the beast that bit him and why he can control his transformations.  They are the reason why Halo has been able to heal people and why he can control his transformations.  They are the reason that both Halo and Wildfire survived the spell cast by Torrent earlier today, activating their demonic energies to protect them._

"My God," Kento breathed, face paling.

"There's more, isn't there?" Mia asked unsteadily.

_Yes, there is._

"What?" Ryo whispered, honestly afraid of the answer.

_The lot of you wanted to know about the guardians' companions, Turriv and White Blaze.  Am I right?_  After several of the Ronins nodded numbly, she continued.  _You know that Turriv is from my dimension, but you probably didn't know that White Blaze was._  She had to pause again at the sharp intake of breaths circling the table.  _The guardians forbade the use of magic on the battlefields, and to help them keep track of everything about them during the wars, the great cats were made.  The guardians loved the beasts for their usefulness as well as for their companionship.  The ones to survive the battles interbred throughout the years, multiplying in number.  Very few truly know that they are lesser demons of a sort._

"WHAT!"

_Calm down, Wildfire, before you give yourself a seizure.  Yes, they are demons of a sort, and as such were able to interbreed with the true demons, though both groups mostly kept to themselves.  Turriv is a half-breed.  He inherited the demonic strength and intelligence from his father, and excluding magical abilities, he is as strong as any other demon. His physical form came from his mother._

"And what about White Blaze?" Ryo asked in a choked voice.

_White Blaze is purely a great cat.  Nowhere in his line have the great cats interbred with the demons like myself.  You do know that the tiger can transform, don't you?  One of a number of abilities that the great cats possess.  He appears to have merged with another of the great cats, a black tiger I believe.  That's what he turns into._

"We knew that much," Rowen said softly, not trusting Ryo to keep a civil tongue for much longer.

"Tell me there aren't any new surprises about us," Sage whispered, trembling slightly from the unsettling news he had just received about himself, his armor, and his friend's companion.

_Well, none that I'm going to tell you tonight.  Will that work?_

"Perfectly," Sage muttered sarcastically, dropping his head to the table in defeat.

Mieren glanced around the table, grimacing to herself.  She hadn't thought that they would be taking it this hard.  After all, the energies of their armors had saved them a lot of grief, had they not?  Deciding that they were just getting uppity about the situation in general, she reached across the table, confiscating Kento's dinner while he was still distracted.

"Hey!" Kento cried out, lunging to reclaim his food, Mieren sliding his plate just beyond his reach.

_Well, you weren't eating it,_ she countered, grinning at him.

Kento jumped out of his seat, darting around the table to reclaim his supper before he lost any more of it to the girl.  Mieren in turn grinned at his approach, jumping out of his reach at the last possible moment, chuckling as he crashed to the floor.  Eating his food casually, she continued to dodge Kento's desperate attacks.  Scraping the last bit of food off of the plate into her mouth, she returned the plate to an infuriated Ronin who stormed off to the kitchen, muttering obscenities.

Mieren reclaimed her seat, smiling contentedly to herself upon seeing the hesitant grins forming around the table at her antics.  Lips shifting into a devious smile, she began to inspect the other plates around the table, all of which were immediately moved away from her.  They knew full well how much and how fast she could eat.  Jumping to her feet, she ran from the room.

The others watched her go, momentarily confused.  At an outraged roar erupted in the kitchen, causing everyone to jump, Cye nearly unseating himself.  Heads swiveled and wild grins appeared as Mieren darted through the dining room, plate in her hands and Kento on her heels, screaming vulgarities that had even Rowen blushing.

To Be Continued…

Of course I have more ready to post.  I just have to fight the computer to make it work.  I swear this machine is out to drive me insane.  Anywho, prove you love me and R&R.


	7. Part 7

Midnight Shadows

Part 7

By Mieren

Mieren stirred slightly, blinking in the darkness of the room for a moment before shifting her eyes red and glancing around.  Spotting the clock, she made a face.  One of the few things she had come to understand in her time here was how to tell what time of day it was by the strange numbers on the clocks.  It was the middle of the night.

Grumbling darkly to herself about what might have woken her up, she squirmed out of Rowen's grasp and strained her ears listening to the sounds echoing throughout the house to her sensitive ears.  Wildfire was muttering in his sleep, as usual.  Torrent was tossing in his bed, probably due to Hardrock's snoring.  Big surprise there.  Halo was still spitting vulgarities in his sleep for being evicted to the couch again.  Unable to hear anything out of the ordinary, Mieren opened her other senses.

Something tickled at the back of her mind.  She frowned in irritation.  Whoever what calling her was a considerable distance from her, and most definitely not in this dimension.  _Whoever's calling me had better have a good reason for waking me_, Mieren grumped, fully opening her mind to the message.

Mieren's eyes widened instantly.  Throwing Rowen onto the floor roughly, earning herself a startled curse, she jumped up to leave the room.  She let out a loud ululating cry as she dashed into the hall, screaming at the two great cats in her mind as she tore into Ryo's room, jerking him out of bed roughly.  Continuing down the hall, she lifted Cye and Kento out of their beds, slapping them both hard on the backside to get them moving before venturing downstairs, thankfully finding Sage already awake.

"What in the hell is going on?" Ryo demanded, scowling at Mieren for having been awakened so roughly.

_I have a few spies roaming the Dynasty.  I was just informed that the Warlords are mounting an attack.  You must be forewarned, they are much stronger now.  They have been in the pools for nearly a week, according to my source, with the exception of Kayura.  Something else has been done to her.  Get moving!_

"Where are they?" Rowen asked quickly, completely awake, much to the surprise of the other four Ronins.

_They are about to open a portal in the city.  I suggest that we get over there now and set up a welcoming party._

"I've always loved a bit of good exercise," Kento said happily.  "Just wish that those idiots could find a better time to play."

_Exercise?  Have you gone mad?  All three Warlords are there, Kayura with them.  Every last one of them is inconceivably stronger than the last time we fought them, so all of you must be careful.  Gather around, here we go._

Cye jumped when he realized what she intended.  Not bothering to argue, they all gathered around, Cye placing his hand on her shoulder to provide her with energy that she would desperately need to accomplish this maneuver.  She immediately slapped it away, glaring at him.

_You will need your energy.  I cannot fight this battle.  I am no longer strong enough to do anything, and skill will only take you so far when your opponents are that much stronger than you are.  Wildfire, Halo, Hardrock.  I want you three to guard Torrent and Rowen while they cast spells.  Torrent, if you insist on casting the Exodus spell, make sure you hit one of them with it, and then you better hit the dirt if you wanna live.  You will be virtuously defenseless while doing so.  Summon your armor the instant you get there and be ready to fight.  Halo, Wildfire.  Feel free to shapeshift during the battle to gain more strength if you need it.  Don't worry, your armor will accommodate the change.  If you do so, make sure that they see you do it.  That'll scare the piss outta 'em.  Here we go._

The five Ronins were only able to gasp as the world went white.

*     *     *

Ryo shifted impatiently, glancing around in annoyance.  They had been waiting for over an hour and had seen no sign of a Dynasty soldier, much less a Warlord.  He made a face, wondering why Mieren had yanked them all out of bed just to stand around in the middle of the night like a bunch of idiots.  He stiffened when a shadow materialized in front of him, crimson eyes piercing the night.

"Anything yet?" he whispered.

_Nothing so far, but give them a minute._

"We've given them plenty of time," Rowen grumped, Sage nodding in agreement.

_Would you rather wait here or back at the house, where you'll endanger Mia?_

"That's not fair," Ryo hissed angrily.

"How are Cye and Kento doing?" Rowen asked quickly before Ryo completely snapped and jumped Mieren in one of his infamous blind furies.

_They're fine.  Torrent sent me to see how you three are doing.  Speaking of which, why are you here, Halo?  This isn't where I told you to stand watch._

Sage shrugged.  "I'm here because I couldn't find Cye and Kento."

Mieren hissed in vexation.  _Go back to your post.  We need to watch from a variety of angles so we're sure to see them when they get here.  Unless you'd rather be caught by surprise, that is._

"We'll see them coming," Ryo muttered angrily.

_You had better do as I say if you want to survive.  I have more fighting experience than the whole lot of you put together, and I know more than you could possibly imagine about combat.  This way, when they appear, they'll be surrounded.  Move it, Halo!_

"I though you weren't supposed to divide your forces," Sage murmured.

_That's only if they know you're there.  They're not expecting us, so I think it better to surround them and try to keep them off balance._

Sage frowned and shifted his eyes to a shining golden before vanishing into the shadows around them.  Ryo shifted his eyes to crimson for a moment to pinpoint the position his friend had just taken up, nodding to himself thoughtfully.  Sage had the right idea in finding a high place to hide.  Signaling to Rowen, he jumped to the roof of the building beside him, leaving Mieren to vanish into the darkness as she followed Sage.

Ryo looked up as something tickled the corner of his mind, causing the hair on the back of his neck to stand on end.  He flattened himself to the roof, pulling Rowen down beside him.  The pavement below flickered strangely in the shadows, alerting him that something was terribly wrong.

_Hey Sage, you see that?_ Ryo called softly in his mind.

_Yea.  What the hell is it?_

_I have no idea, but have Mieren tell Kento and Cye._

Ryo clenched his hands around his katanas, tensing his muscles as he prepared to attack whatever was coming out of the black flames licking the pavement.  Rowen squinted pitifully beside him, fingering his bow uncertainly.

"Flare Up Now!"

"Arrow Shock Wave!"

*     *     *

Sage gaped as Kayura and the three Warlords rose out of the black flames, dispersing frantically with startled shouts as two sure-kills shot towards them.  He tensed as Cale jumped away from the source of the two sure-kills, nearly landing on top of him.  Grinning viciously, he raised his no-dachi.

"Thunder Bolt Cut!"

Cale vaulted out of the way madly, the sure-kill slamming into him from point-blank range despite his desperate efforts.  Rolling with the blast, he regained his feet, scowling darkly at the Ronin confronting him.

"I thought you were a…" Cale began in astonishment, cutting off abruptly as Sage's sure-kill shot towards him again, swearing as he evaded the blast this time.

No-dachi met no-dachi in a shower of green and black sparks.  Cale nearly lost one of his hands when he flinched at the appearance of a slender black-clad girl that he had though was dead.  Scowling at her furiously for the interruption, he leapt away from Sage, pausing in his battle just long enough to throw a blast of energy at the girl.

Sage smiled, greatly amused at the prospect of Cale being totally unnerved.  He choked on his grin when Cale shot a bolt of energy towards Mieren, the black fireball exploding a few feet from her as it contacted a shimmering white shield.  He bit his lip worriedly, glad that Cale didn't see her stagger from the strain of holding the shield.

Sage smiled suddenly, readying his no-dachi.  Cale's eyes narrowed as he saw the unexpected grin, obviously wondering if his opponent had gone stark raving mad.  Sage shifted his eyes to a shining golden, lashing out with his no-dachi when Cale blanched and jerked back in shock.  Cale barely managed to block his blow.

Mieren watched the battle for a moment, throwing a fireball of her own into the Warlord's side before vanishing into the darkness.  Sage watched her go, knowing that she was heading for the conflagration of sure-kills flaring in the sky not far from them.  He gaped when Cale barely flinched at the impact of the white flames.

"You're doing quite well, Halo, but you should know that I'm only toying with you.  I'm much stronger than you could possibly imagine now," Cale taunted.

"You think that I'm fighting with my full power?" Sage asked slyly.

"You don't know what power is," Cale hissed, concentrating slightly.  Black flames shot up around him, cloaking him even from Sage's improved vision.

Sage blanched, his mind screaming for him to retreat as he felt the waves of energy emanating from the Warlord.  Resorting to something his hoped he wouldn't have to do to win, he called upon his hidden abilities, forcing himself to shapeshift.  He prayed that Mieren was right when telling them that their armor would change with the wearer.

*     *     *

"Star Storm Scream!"

"Web of Deception!"

Rowen felt his knees buckle as he slid to the ground, all of his strength diverted into holding the shield protecting himself and Ryo steady.  Ryo crouched ever lower to the ground beside him as the shield shivered and shrank, nearing them at an alarming rate.

A blinding flash of light erupted in the distance, showing a silhouette darkening the sky behind Dais and Kayura for an instant.  Rowen's eyes bulged.

"Oh God, Mieren, no.  Please don't," he whispered.

Dais fell from the sky as she careened into him from behind, Kayura forgetting to maintain her sure-kill as she saw the cloaked figure staring at her from atop Dais's back.  She forgot her shock as Mieren was thrown through the air immediately, slamming into one building, emerging from the other side and finally vanishing into a second building.  Dais grinned at his handiwork happily.

"Little Ronins," he called mockingly.  "There's no need to fight any longer.  We've won.  Even the mighty demon is no match for us!"

Rowen flinched, worry painting his face for a moment as he looked at the hole in the building in which Mieren had disappeared.  Worry gave way to blind fury in an instant.  He jumped to his feet, sapphire flames raging around him as he turned to Dais.

"You dare to attack her?" he hissed dangerously.

Dais blinked at the boy's vehemence, not sure how to respond.  He didn't get a chance to think about it as the ground shot up to ensnare his legs, holding him in place.

"Arrow Shock Wave!"

Dais sneered at Rowen contemptuously, casually swatting aside the sure-kill as it neared him.

"Pathetic, Strata," he growled, looking at the concrete holding him unconcernedly for a moment before pulling free with horrifying ease.  "Would you like to see a real trick?" he called, pausing when Rowen blanched and stepped back.

Dais threw his arms up in the air.  Rowen froze as the world shimmered and bucked wildly, Dais and Kayura vanishing abruptly.

"Flare Up Now!" Ryo screamed, slamming his sure-kill into the last place he had seen Dais.  He raised his katanas defensively at the responding chuckle.

"Is that all the better you can do, little Ronin?" Dais called mockingly, appearing in over three dozen places instantly.

"Ah shit," Rowen muttered.

"Star Storm Scream!"

Rowen raised his arms to block immediately, crying out in horror as he was suddenly lifted off the ground, the sure-kill slamming into the ground where he had been standing.  He looked down in alarm as he realized he was over twenty stories above the ground already, and was still rising.  A heavily muscled black neck extended in front of him, taloned hands gripping his ankles to hold him securely in place on the ridged back, enormous membranous wings extended to either side of him.

Rowen trembled slightly, remembering the description Sage had given them of Mieren in her dragon form.  Nodding shakily, he raised his bow and began unleashing a hail of arrows upon the dozens of little Dais figures scrambling around below.  He froze when the world spun in his mind, all of the illusions below vanishing, leaving three figures in his view.  One of the three was spinning wildly, wielding katanas frantically.  Taking aim, he began raining arrows upon the other two, both of which vanished from view as they dodged faster than he could follow.

"You bitch!" Kayura screamed, shooting through air at the two of them, aiming her attack at Mieren, much to Rowen's surprise.  He nearly wet himself when Mieren banked sharply to avoid the slash, changing her turn into a roll to avoid Dais's silent approach.  Rowen clung to her desperately as they turned upside down for a moment, his eyes bulging at the sight of the inconceivable distance between himself and the ground.

Kayura and Dais charged from opposite sides, intent on dropping her from the sky to stop her from interfering with Dais's illusions.  Rowen released arrows as quickly as he could nock them, managing to drive Dais away from them.  He slid forward as Mieren abruptly stopped in midair, nearly unseating him.

Rowen gasped as he looked down, eyes watering at the sight of the two blades protruding from the scaled neck in front of him.  Mieren released his ankles to reach forward and down, trying to dislodge the swords holding her.  Kayura smirked at them, yanking her swords back roughly, sending Rowen and Mieren careening to the ground.

He watched in horror as they approached the ground at an alarming speed, certain that they would both be crushed upon impact.  At the last moment, Mieren wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him, throwing her wings out in one last, powerful downstroke.  They slowed immensely, but not completely.  Spinning in the last few feet in the air, Mieren made sure that she landed on the bottom, cushioning Rowen's fall in a sickening crunching of ribs.

Rowen jumped off immediately, slipping his arms around her desperately as Ryo watched in helplessness.  A resounding howl rose up in the night, evolving into a furious cry that echoed through the streets.

A flare of sapphire energy destroyed the night, Kayura's scream silent in the answering thunder.

*     *     *

Ryo gaped in astonishment as the blue fires died from the sky, leaving Rowen sprawled bonelessly across the pavement.  Kayura was nowhere to be seen.  Ryo looked up slowly as he heard a clattering thunder approach him from the next street.

He froze when Sage darted into the street, eyes immediately locking on Rowen's limp form.  Sage howled angrily, rearing back onto his hind legs as he spun to face Cale again, barely blocking a lethal blow.

Ryo couldn't tear his eyes from Sage's armor.  In his centaur form, the only part of him that was visible was a golden tail, subarmor covering him completely from neck to hooves.  His full armor was arranged heavily across him, heavy ridges and spikes standing out at potentially lethal angles that spoke of dire consequences for anyone who came near him.  Instead of wielding just a no-dachi, Sage held a knife in his left hand in addition to the no-dachi in his right.  The blade left his fingers immediately, flying through the air to plant itself in Cale's shoulder, earning a startled yelp from the Warlord.  Sage replaced the knife immediately, pulling another blade from a hidden sheath in his armor, seemingly from an infinite supply.

Grinning to himself, Ryo spun back to face Dais, wanting to watch his friend longer but afraid of taking his eyes from the fight.  He swore loudly when he saw that he had missed his window of attack, Dais having renewed his illusion.  Grinding his teeth, he countered the illusion in the only way he could think of at the moment.

"Hey Dais!!  Get a load of this!!!"

Ryo concentrated fiercely, willing himself to shift into a wolf.  He gasped as his armor and subarmor suddenly became molten, shifting wildly about him.  He ground his teeth, forcing himself to ignore his armor while he transformed.  Unfurling his wings wildly for effect, he looked around expectantly and was not disappointed.

"HOLY SHIT!!!" Dais shrieked, losing control of his illusion.

"Flare Up Now!"

Ryo blinked at the new power rushing forward from his sure-kill.  Dais leapt backward too late, Ryo's blast slamming into him directly.

Ryo glanced at his armor briefly while Dais lay prostrate, groaning weakly.  He grinned at the sleek look to his armor, the streamline ridges flowing along his back and legs.  Tossing his head, he noted that his helmet seemed to be sporting several horns.  He looked back to Dais as he tried to rise weakly.  Out of the corner of his eyes, he glimpsed his wings, his subarmor shielding the leading edge of the thick membrane to the tips.  The wing-fingers were covered by the subarmor as well, leaving the membrane free to catch the air.  At the tip of each finger, his armor had created a rather nasty looking claw to match the spike decorating the joint where all of the wing-fingers converged.

Grinning incredulously, understanding perfectly what had so thoroughly unnerved Dais, he moved towards the fallen Warlord.  Rising quickly, he leveled his katanas, blinking in confusion.  Looking down, he saw an addition from his subarmor that served as heels, allowing him to stand comfortably.  Blinking delightedly, he looked at his arms.  His katanas were attached to the sides of his arms, extended at the moment.  He relaxed his hands experimentally, watching in fascination as the blades retracted out of his way.

"This is no time to be playing with your new armor!" Sage yelled angrily.

Ryo looked up, grimacing in embarrassment.  Before he had a chance to move forward to finish Dais, Cale snatched up his fallen comrade, leaping out of Ryo's reach.  Moving to a safe position in the air, he began to shake Dais.

"Damn it!  Wake up!"

Dais groaned groggily, stirring slightly.  Cale yelped and dropped him as Ryo shot through the air quickly, if unsteadily, in their direction.  Dais recovered just enough to brace himself a moment before he slammed into the ground, watching in horror as Sage charged him, no-dachi raised.  Looking around wildly, he grabbed up the first defense he saw available to him.  Rowen.

Sage skidded to a halt as Dais seized his unconscious friend from the ground, holding a blade of black flames to his throat.

"Tell Wildfire to stop," he hissed.

Sage's throat worked silently for a moment before he took a hesitant step back.

"Ryo!  Stop!  He has Rowen!"

Ryo froze, his shock earning him a nasty slash in his wing from Cale's no-dachi.  Folding his wings, he dropped to the ground numbly, staring at the horrifying scene before him.

"I think that we can use his help, don't you Cale?" Dais called mockingly as he rose unsteadily to join his companion.

"If he survives," Cale taunted, nicking Rowen's chin with his no-dachi, causing him to groan and stir weakly.

_Cease this.  NOW._

"What the hell is that?" Cale called out, glancing around in confusion.

_Look down._

"Well, well.  It would seem that the mighty demon rises again," Dais sneered.

_Release him, or I will do something that will make punching through your armor look like a joke._

Cale's face paled and darkened by turns as he regarded the girl below him, not noticing Dais's answering blanch.

"That was you?" Cale called out, a dangerous glint entering his eyes.

"Yea, it was her," Dais muttered, pressing his blade tighter to Rowen's throat.

_How about a trade then?  You can have me if you let him go._

"What kind of trick is this?" Dais hissed, looking at Cale in confusion.

_No trick.  As much as I tried to avoid it, I'm afraid that I've fallen in love with that boy.  Release him, and you may have me.  Hurt him, and I will go on a rampage the likes of which neither you nor the Dynasty has ever seen._

"NO!" Rowen screamed, now fully awake and bucking in Dais's grip.

Cale's eyes narrowed speculatively.  "Sure.  It's a deal."

Cale dropped to the ground, approaching Mieren slowly, wary of a trap.  She stood unmoving as he approached, not even flinching as he brought his no-dachi to her neck, drawing a thin trail of blood.

_Swear that you'll release him._

"I swear," Cale murmured softly, drawing his no-dachi back.  Mieren nodded, tilting her chin back and closing her eyes.  Cale chuckled, swinging his blade with all of his new strength, a grin spreading across his face at the resulting howl from above him.

"MIEREN!!!" Rowen shrieked, bucking in Dais's grasp, oblivious to the blade digging into his throat, tears streaming down his face.

"Come on, Dais.  We'll throw him back in the pools," Cale called out loudly, grinning widely at the appalled expressions regarding him as he vanished in a swirl of black flames.

Dais looked numbly at the boy bucking in his grasp, screaming out the girl's name over and over, the boy's broken expression tearing at his mind.  This wasn't right.  He blinked at the thought, preparing himself to follow Cale, shoulders drooping as the boy went limp in his arms, body racked with sobs.

Without thinking, he lowered himself to the ground, walking forward unsteadily towards the two Ronins glaring at him furiously.  Twin katanas and no-dachi were immediately leveled with him, but neither made a move to attack.

Dais continued forward numbly, unloading the now catatonic boy into Sage's arms, not resisting when a katana slid between his helmet and armor to rest against his neck.  He didn't even notice the blade drawing blood as he stood unmoving, mind reeling.

"I don't want any part of this," he mumbled as he turned to walk away, Ryo's katana leaving a huge gouge in the back of his neck.  Deep violet, nearly black, flames rose around him as he vanished into the night, leaving the dumbfounded Ronins gaping into the now empty darkness.

*     *     *

"Snake Fang Strike!"

Cye leapt out of the way of Sehkmet's sure-kill frantically, watching in shock as the pavement where he had been standing ceased to exist.  Kento scrambled to his feet, gripping his tetsubo forcefully in his right hand, his left arm hanging limply at his side.

"You okay, Kento?"

"I think so," he muttered.

"Super Wave Smasher!"

Sehkmet laughed as the sure-kill shot towards him, raising one hand almost contemptuously to block the blast.  He steadied his hand, black flames gathering around his outstretched fingers, forming into a black sphere.

"Um, Cye?"

"Yea?"

"What is that?"

"I have no idea."

Neither had time for further conversation as Sehkmet threw the molten essence of darkness at them.  Cye raised his arms frantically, leaning forward into the blast slightly, turquoise flames flaring wildly around his slender form.  Black flames met turquoise, the night sky lighting up in a blinding flash.

Kento squinted into the returning blackness, swearing loudly when he saw Cye sprawled across the ground just in front of him.  He dropped to his knees beside the younger boy, reaching out slowly, afraid of what he would find.

"Cye?  Are you okay?"

Cye groaned weakly, trying to rise and failing miserably.  "I think so."

"Why didn't you dodge that thing?" Kento demanded angrily, brow furrowing in worry for his best friend.

"If I had, it would have hit you," he murmured.

"Something wrong, little Ronins?" Sehkmet called mockingly.

Kento ground his teeth.  This was bad.  They were losing miserably and Sehkmet seemed to be messing around.  He took a deep breath, hoping to calm his nerves, failing pathetically when he remembered that Sehkmet wasn't even trying.

Kento jumped to his feet, readying his tetsubo unsteadily and trying to clear his mind.  Thoughts drifting back to the training Mieren had given them, he raised his weapon in a defensive position, hoping he could pull off this maneuver with only one hand.  Spinning the tetsubo over his head, he began warily.

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

Predictably, Sehkmet moved out of the way, not bothering to block the blow this time.  Kento was already hidden in the shadows, preparing himself for the next wave.  Sehkmet immediately spotted him, rolling his eyes as he started forward.  Kento swore.  He wasn't supposed to be seen yet.  Skipping around in the attack, he darted forward, praying silently that Sehkmet would stay on the ground.

Sehkmet smirked as Kento charged him, readying his swords.  At the last moment, Kento threw his feet out from under him, careening into the startled Warlord's legs.  Phrases rang out into the night that made Kento blanch from the pure vulgarity.  He grinned weakly, deciding that if nothing else, his opponent had a creative vocabulary.

Bringing his tetsubo up sharply, he managed to get in a direct blow to Sehkmet's jaw, earning himself another set of interesting phrases.

Kento blinked.  "What exactly is an unnatural spawn of the diseased crevice of a rodent's scrotum?"

Sehkmet scowled at him, jumping to his feet and leveling his swords angrily.  Kento followed suit warily, preparing himself for a vicious onslaught of slashes.  Sehkmet had to be furious now, having been hit for the first time in this battle.  It was about to be the second time, Kento noted, grinning when he saw Cye creeping up unsteadily from behind the furious Warlord.

Cye leveled his yari slowly, turquoise flames gathering around the tip of the weapon, swirling gently.  The flames intensified, lighting up the streets around the three combatants.  Sehkmet stiffened, spinning on his heels to face the younger Ronin.

"Super Wave Smasher!"

Sehkmet grunted from the impact at point-blank range, flying through the air over Kento's head to land face first into the pavement over fifty feet away.

"Hey, Cye.  That's pretty neat."

"Thanks."

Sehkmet jumped to his feet, scowling furiously at the two Ronins.  He whipped all six of his swords out of their sheaths, deciding to show the two what a _real_ sure-kill was supposed to do.

"Snake Fang Strike!"

The blow deflected off of a shimmering blue dome, throwing the blast away from its primary target, directly into the secondary.  Kento's shriek of agony rang through the night.  An answering howl of rage erupted from a few streets over, immediately followed by a blinding sapphire flash and a clap of thunder that rattled the buildings as far as the eye could see.

Cye darted over to where Kento had fallen, cradling his best friend's head in his lap, tears streaming down his face.

"Kento?  Can you hear me?" Cye called softly, eyes misting at the weak groan he received as an answer.

Lowering his friend gently to the ground, he looked up angrily at Sehkmet.  He was aware that Sehkmet was speaking, but his mind refused to make sense out of the jumble of words.  He remained cradling his friend for several minutes, tears stinging his eyes when Kento shuddered and went limp.

Cye's eyes clouded as he saw his friend lying still on the pavement, his throat constricting.  Eyes burning, he began to slowly speak the words streaming into his mind.

"What in the hell are you saying, Torrent?" Sehkmet snapped, eyes narrowing at the gibberish that the boy was spitting into the night.  "What is 'Allayendis'?"

_"Turning against the light, an angel falls from the earth.  He has been banished by the light of the world and dimension.  Turning against the wonders of life, the dark warrior destroys the world.  I will bring about this destruction!  Exodus!"_

Sehkmet recognized the last word of the rambling nonsense from something that Cale and Dais had told him.  He face paled in horror as he realized that they hadn't been jerking his chain, the turquoise flames swirling around the youngest Ronin bathing the area in blinding light for miles around.  The Warlord didn't even have time to blink before a lethal blast of energy slammed into him, the burning slash of power threatening to blind any eye that glimpsed it, even for an instant.

*     *     *

"Come on, Rowen.  Can you hear me?" Ryo called out softly, shaking the catatonic boy from where he hung limply in Sage's arms.

"What are we going to do with him?" Sage asked softly.  "We can't leave him here and we can't take him with us when we look for Cye and Kento.  If they're still fighting, we may have to help and Rowen'll just be in the way."

"Assuming he doesn't get hurt or killed."

"We can't leave him here, can we?"

_Give him to me, then._

Without thinking, Sage handed Rowen's limp form to the accepting arms of a figure beside him.

Sage realized what he had done suddenly when he caught Ryo's incredulous expression, eyes wide and jaw hanging slack.  Spinning angrily, he turned to face who he had handed off his best friend to, freezing in astonishment when he found himself face to face with Mieren.

"But I thought that you were…" Sage trailed off slowly.

_Dead?_

"Yes!  We saw Cale decapitate you!  How can you be alive?" Ryo spluttered.

_Idiot.  Like I would really commit suicide like that.  Don't be weird._

Mieren grinned at their gaping for a moment before turning her attention to the limp boy in her arms, her eyebrows climbing towards her hairline.

_What happened to him?_

"He thinks you're dead," Sage murmured helpfully, blinking when Mieren snorted wryly.

_You people don't know me very well, it would appear.  I'll snap him out of it, just give me a second,_ she said, a grin starting to build on her face.  Pushing his helmet out of the way, she kissed him deeply, pulling back with a contented grin when his filmed eyes cleared slightly as he blinked uncertainly.

"Mieren?" Rowen asked softly, pulling himself free.  Taking several steps back, he eyed the corpse still sprawled in the street before turning back to the girl standing in front of him.

_You doubt who I am?_ she asked slowly, grinning wickedly.  _Want proof?_

Rowen only continued to look alternately between her and the corpse in the street, taking a few steps back and shaking his head in confusion.

_Very well, but remember that you asked for it_.

Moving forward, she placed one hand on the breastplate of his armor, sliding her hand down to where his ribs ended.  His armor rippled slightly, allowing her hand to pass through.  Ryo and Sage began snickering as Rowen's face went bright red, clashing horribly with his armor.  They only needed one guess to decide what she had just done.

Stepping back, she placed her hands on her hips, grinning happily.  _Convinced?_

Rowen nodded quickly, glancing one last time at the corpse in the street.

_That wasn't me over there, I'll have you know.  That's just a spell a bit more advanced than I think you'll ever be able to manage._

Rowen nodded slowly, the red finally starting to fade from his cheeks.  "Where are Cye and Kento?" he asked without looking away from Mieren.

"We don't know," Sage muttered, making a face.

Rowen spun around to face them, blanching when he got a good look at them for the first time.  "What in the hell happened to your armor?"

"Neat, huh?" Ryo asked, inspecting the subarmor covering his wings again.

Rowen nodded numbly.  "I though she was kidding when she said that your armor would change to accommodate you guys."

Somewhere in the distance, turquoise flames enveloped the night and a single word drifted back to them.

"Exodus!"

_Shit!  Duck and cover!_

Everyone hit the pavement just as a shock wave passed over them, a swirling blue and white shield barely deflecting the worst of the blast.

Rowen was the first to jump to his feet.  "We need to find them quickly," he breathed, eyes wide.  "Cye wouldn't use that spell unless he was desperate."

_I should hope not._

Mieren ran over to Sage, dragging Rowen behind her.  Placing her hands on Sage's back, she concentrated for a moment, smoothing the ridges and spikes from his armor before physically throwing Rowen onto his back.  Sage blinked in surprise for a moment before his features degenerated into a scowl.

"Get off me, Rowen."

_Stay where you are, Rowen.  And as for you Halo, quit complaining.  He can't run as fast as the rest of us and I don't want him falling behind.  Halo, Wildfire.  Follow me._

Mieren jumped forward, shifting into a sleek black dragon in midair.  She was running as she hit the ground.  Ryo immediately leapt after her, running on all fours.  Sage made one last face before following, Rowen clinging to him for dear life.

*     *     *

Cye gasped for breath, blinking at the spots dancing in his vision.  Unable to see in the darkness, he allowed his eyes to shift to crimson.  He immediately spotted Kento sprawled limply on the pavement a few paces away from him.  Scrambling over to his friend, Cye searched madly for a pulse, heaving a relieved sigh when he found one, faint though it was.

Hooking his arms beneath his friend, Cye heaved himself to his feet, struggling to stay upright as his knees began to buckle violently.  Growling to himself, he started forward at a halting pace, nearly dropping his friend with each step.

"Remind me to put you on a diet," Cye muttered, locking his knees and arms stubbornly as he headed for the last place where he had seen Sage's sure-kill.

Grinding his teeth audibly, he forced himself to keep moving, certain that if he stopped that he would never get moving again.  He squinted into the darkness in front of him, forcing his crimson eyes to focus on the steadily approaching shapes.  He counted three, two of which were moving silently.  The third could be heard from a mile off.

Setting Kento gently to the ground, he raised his yari defensively, praying that anyone approaching would leave him alone.  Anyone who cared to attack him would see his bluff for what it was immediately at this point in time.  The first shape in the blackness was far ahead of the other two and was closing the distance between them at an alarming rate.  The first shadow came into view, a heavily muscled black dragon lurching from the deep shadows into the starlight.

Cye gasped, stepping back and leveling his yari.

"Super… Wave…"

_Stop that, Torrent.  It's just me._

"Mieren?" he called hesitantly.

_You bet.  How badly is Hardrock hurt?_ Mieren called as she skidded to a halt beside the fallen boy, shifting into her human form almost as an afterthought.

"I'm not sure.  It's bad enough though.  Where's Sage?"

"Over here," he called as he came to a sudden stop, instantly unseating Rowen, who squawked indignantly at being dumped on the ground in such a manner.

"You could have asked me to get off," Rowen grumped as he pushed himself off of the ground, brushing himself off angrily.

"What the hell happened to your armor?" Cye cried out suddenly as he got a good look at Sage and Ryo.

"Later, Cye.  How's Kento doing?"

"It's bad Ryo," Sage called softly, looking up with haunted eyes.  "What happened to him Cye?"

"Sehkmet hit him with his sure-kill twice."

"Twice?" Sage murmured, eyes narrowing.  "That means that Sehkmet has gotten a lot stronger too.  It appears that Mieren was right."

"Was he throwing around new attacks?" Ryo asked slowly.

"A few," Cye whispered, eyes clouding as Sage shook his head and moved back.

"This is beyond my abilities," Sage breathed, eyes squeezed shut forcefully.

_Rowen, Halo, if you would…_

Rowen nodded quickly, moving over to place his hand on Mieren's shoulder as she inspected Kento carefully.  Sage immediately placed his hand on her other shoulder, a deep emerald glow enveloping him as sapphire flames shot around Rowen, both of their energies dwarfed by the snowy flames that enveloped Mieren.

"I thought you were weaker than us," Sage said softly.

_I am.  At the moment, I'm using your energies to do this._

"It's more than that," he hissed.

_Fine.  I'm cheating.  We'll talk about it later, Halo._

Sage accepted that for the moment.  He would get a straight answer out of her later if it killed him.  He blinked suddenly as he realized something.

"Weren't you hurt?"

_Not overly.  I've taken much worse than this and you know it.  If you have enough energy, you can heal me when I'm done with Hardrock._

Mieren ducked her head, the snowy flames flaring over twenty stories above her for a moment before the fires shrank, concentrating around her hands.  One by one, all of the Ronins had to look away from her hands as the light became blinding.  Squirming out of Rowen and Sage's grasps, Mieren completed the intricate spell she had been casting with such care.

As the light faded, Cye moved over to Kento immediately as Rowen pushed Sage out of the way to kneel beside Mieren.  Sage and Ryo watched worriedly.

"They need to rest," Cye murmured, lifting Kento slowly, depositing him on Sage's back after a moment's deliberation.

"Hey!  What am I?  A pack mule?"

"Pack horse maybe," Ryo corrected, grinning at Sage's answering scowl.

"Sage?  What about Mieren?"

Grumbling, Sage reached out to heal the girl, blinking at the weariness that appeared to saturate her very soul.  He healed her injuries quickly, taking care of the nicks on Rowen's throat almost as an afterthought.

Rowen looked at Mieren carefully, finally nodding to himself before tossing her onto Sage's back and climbing up after her to keep both her and Kento from falling off.

"Get off," Sage said softly, dangerously.

Ryo chuckled to himself.  "Pound them later, Sage.  Right now, we've go to get back, quickly if possible."

"I don't see _you_ carrying anyone," he grumped.

Ryo made a face.  "Fair enough," he murmured, tossing Cye a careful look.

Cye blanched.  "You can't be serious."

"Lose the armor and get on."

Sage blinked as Cye banished his armor to stand in his fish covered pajamas, looking uncertainly at Ryo's ridged armor before summoning his subarmor and climbing onto his friend's back, careful to keep from crushing his wings.  He sat down slowly between Ryo's shoulder blades, wondering how he was going to hold on.

"Rowen, ditch your armor."

Rowen only blinked in surprise before obeying.  Sage started forward, consoling himself with the fact that at least the three on him didn't weigh too much.  He grinned ruefully as he saw the expression on Cye's face from where he sat precariously on top of Ryo.  His unnerved expression changed to one of horror as Ryo jumped into the air, grabbing Cye's ankles as he rose smoothly from the ground.

Sage started into a backbreaking gallop, grateful that Ryo was gliding slowly enough for him to keep up.  Together, they set a new speed record as they headed back to Mia's for some much needed rest.

*     *     *

"Now, will you guys _please_ tell me what's going on?" Mia pleaded.  She had seen them arrive with Kento and Mieren unconscious, Sage and Ryo transformed, and Cye and Rowen almost unable to stand upright.  "You vanished without telling me _anything_, and I think I deserve to know what the hell you were doing all night."

Ryo made a face and looked up wearily.  "One of Mieren's friends told her that the Warlords were coming, and she thought it was better to meet them where they arrived than to let them bring the battle here."

Mia grimaced.  "Well, it is better that you fight somewhere else beside here, but you still should have told me you were going."

"We didn't think we had enough time for that."

"Whatever.  Now what happened out there?"

"Mieren had us split up.  She said it would be more effective to surround them when they arrived.  Rowen and I were fighting Dais and Kayura, Sage was fighting Cale, and Cye and Kento were fighting Sehkmet.  Mieren was moving around between the fights until she was hurt trying to protect Rowen," Ryo sighed.  This was going to take awhile to explain fully.

Sage shook his head.  He knew what had happened and had no desire to hear Ryo telling Mia what he already knew in perfect detail.  Moving into the living room, he looked from where Kento was sprawled on the couch to where Mieren was slumped in the armchair.  Making a face, he examined them again, sighing when he only found the same thing he had with every other inspection.  There was nothing to heal, just an unnatural weariness that didn't allow for either of them to move in the slightest.  It was infuriating to see them both exhausted like this, several hours of rest not seeming to have had any effect on either of them.

He scrubbed his hand through his hair.  Recently, Mieren had been wearing out more quickly and needed longer to recover each time.  When they had first met her, she had been seriously injured but had beaten all of them without a problem, carrying three of them in full armor afterward without seeming to mind.  He had seen her withstand what should have been mortal injuries without even flinching, or even noticing in most cases.  It tore him up to see her lying unconscious like that.  He frowned.  He didn't even like her that much.  If he was having trouble with this, he could only imagine how Rowen felt.

Sage blinked thoughtfully.  If she were simply weary, she wouldn't be lying there like that.  It just wasn't like her.  There _had_ to be something wrong with her.

Concentrating carefully, he infused what little energy he had left into her, grinning weakly when her eyelids fluttered in response.

_Ah, Halo.  Gather the others, quickly._

Sage didn't bother to ask her askance, immediately calling loudly for the others.  Bolting upstairs, he physically yanked Rowen out of his bed, pushing him forcefully into the hall before running to get Cye.  In the span of a minute, he had everyone gathered in the living room around Mieren.

"This better be important," Rowen grumped, never pleased about being forcefully removed from his bed.

Sage made a face.  He had forgotten to tell them why he had called them.  Shrugging, he gently placed his hand on Mieren's shoulder, shaking her gently.

"Are you still awake?"

_Barely.  Listen closely, Ronins.  You need to do something.  Hardrock is dying and I can't keep him alive much longer._

Everyone in the room had long since gone pale, Cye sinking to the floor slowly.

"What do you mean 'dying'?" he whispered.

_He was hit by the Warlord's sure-kill twice.  They are much stronger now.  To be honest, I am amazed he was still alive when I got to him.  There are no wounds to heal.  The Warlord of Venom has efficiently poisoned him, and it is beyond both my and Halo's abilities to heal._

"What did you do when you found him?" Rowen asked slowly, hoping they could build on it.  Mieren quickly squashed what little hope there was of that.

_I linked his life force to mine.  His was nearly nonexistent when I found him.  We live on the same life energies now, and it is killing us both._

"How long do we have?" Ryo breathed, eyes widening.

_One day.  Two at the very most.  I wasn't in the best of shapes when I did this, and even if I had been, I wouldn't have been able to hold out more than a week._

"Oh God," Mia's whimper was barely audible.

"What if we took turns at this until he recovers?" Sage asked quickly, grasping for anything they might be able to do.

_Won't work.  Hardrock will not recover.  All that will happen if you take turns is that you will wear yourselves out and be unable to fight.  You will lengthen his life by no more than a week by doing what you suggest, and it will leave us all vulnerable to attack.  Recovery from sharing one's life force takes longer than the cycle would._

"Then there's nothing we can do?" Ryo asked brokenly.

_Figure out something.  I'm in no shape to do anything._

"Isn't there _anything_ you know that might be able to help?" Cye demanded.

"The only one who can defuse the venom from those blows is the one who inflicted them," a soft, mocking voice came from behind them.  The four conscious Ronins immediately spun to face the intruding voice.  Cale grinned maniacally from beside Dais, the latter studying the floor intently from behind them.

Cale brought his no-dachi down viciously, nearly taking off one of Rowen's arms.  Yelping in horror, he lurched to the side, landing heavily on Cye.  Ryo and Sage bolted in opposite directions, calling their subarmor as they dodged blows wildly.

Dais stood staring at the floor for a moment, blinking in confusion for a moment when a blow landed on his back.  Scowling, he spun to lash out at the offending warrior, staring blankly behind himself when he didn't see anyone behind him.  Another blow landed in the small of his back.  Spinning quickly, he planted a kick in his opponent's ribs, jaw dropping limply when a gaunt black-clad figure slammed into the wall.

"I thought you were dead!" he cried out in frustration.

_You thought wrong.  I've lived too long to die _that_ easily._

"And how long is that?"

_Does no one in this dimension know that it is impolite to ask a lady her age?_

Dais's one eye narrowed, an irritated tick beginning in his cheek.  "If you're not dead yet, I can fix that easily enough," he growled.

Deep purplish black flames surrounded him, concentrating into balls in his fists.  Mieren's eyes widened slightly.  The molten balls of black and purple flames left Dais's hands suddenly, dissipating instantly as they contacted a shimmering white dome.  Mieren's knees buckled beneath her, depositing her roughly to the ground.

"So even the mighty demon falls," he sneered, preparing a final attack.

_Such pleasure you take in killing a girl that was sitting on death's door._

The blackish flames died in Dais's hands.  "What?"

_I was already dead before attacking you.  Your blows will only speed up the process a bit, you realize._

Dais narrowed his one good eye, studying her carefully, oblivious to the battle raging around him.  "But you're not even hurt."

_I die protecting a friend, Warlord.  It is something I don't think you'd understand._

He followed her gaze blankly, his one remaining eye widening in shock.  "Hardrock?  But why protect him?  Isn't he dying?"

_Yes, he is.  Friendship is a strange thing.  Even now, after all these years, I continue to learn._

"You didn't answer why."

_Because I would rather die trying to save him than to just stand back and watch him die, wondering if I could have done something._

Dais slid to the floor bonelessly beside the slender girl regarding him wearily, closing his eye as his throat constricted painfully.

*     *     *

Cale swung his no-dachi as quickly as his newfound strength and speed would allow for, landing several painful blows on the weary Ronins.

Rowen rose unsteadily to his feet, clutching one arm where armor and flesh alike had been pierced by a blow he hadn't been able to avoid.  Cye lay unmoving on the floor, breath rasping wetly through the blood streaming from his mouth around a broken jaw.

Ryo had managed to call his full armor and was attempting to keep Cale occupied long enough for Sage to call his as well.  He brandished his katanas threateningly, trying to hide the weariness that slowed his wits as surely as his movements.  Cale slipped past his defenses with a deadly grace, sliding his no-dachi through Ryo's katanas to puncture his right lung, slinging the boy across the room to get him off of his blade.

Sage cried out Ryo's name furiously, slashing out viciously with his own incredible strength.  The deadly arc of his no-dachi was cut short as Cale contemptuously swatted aside his blow, delivering a kick to knock the boy's feet out from under him.  He raised his hands to deliver a deathblow, crashing into the floor as Rowen tackled him furiously, not bothering to call his armor and too tired to use his magical abilities.

Tossing the youth off him irately, he thumped his heel into Sage's ribs as he tried to rise, sickening pops and cracks resounding through the room as he moved over to where Rowen had landed.  Raising his blade with a cruel smile, he began with the lethal downward arc.

The blow was intercepted by a source that he hadn't expected to see alive when he had arrived here.  Mieren slumped forward across Rowen limply, a deep trench running from her shoulder blades to her lower back.  Looking at the slender girl carefully, he decided that she shouldn't even be alive at the moment with the miniscule amount of energy remaining in her body.

Shrugging at the strange turn of events, he decided to finish the job for sure this time, raising his no-dachi immediately lest some other surprise catch him off-guard.  Before he could swing what would have ended the presence of two nuisances in his life, pain erupted between his shoulder blades, stopping him short.  Cale turned in disbelief to see Dais on one knee, one hand planted firmly on the floor for balance, the other pointed in his direction, wisps of purple flames licking his fingers.  A second blast followed the first, slamming Cale into the wall before rising into an amethyst inferno that threw him forcefully out of the dimension.

Dais wobbled unsteadily, mind reeling at what he had just done.  He was barely in a sound enough state of mind to realize that the two conscious Ronins were staring at him intently along with a young woman with auburn hair.  He rose slowly, Rowen mimicking him uncertainly, Sage watching warily from where he lay clutching his side.

Dais stumbled over to the far side of the room, picking up Ryo carefully.  Depositing him next to Sage uncertainly, he dropped to the floor and began staring off intently into space, eye glazing and head hanging slack.

Sage only hesitated a moment before healing Ryo, wishing he could do the same for himself.  Growling an oath that made Rowen blink in surprise, he pulled himself over to Mieren, praying silently that she was still alive.  Seeing the numerous broken ribs along her side, he winced in sympathy.  He began with the more serious of her wounds, the three-inch deep, two-foot long slash down her back.

"Bring Cye over here," he hissed in pain, not sure he had the strength to move himself across the room again.  Rowen complied as quickly as he was able, limping slightly and only able to use one arm.

Sage used the last remaining bit of his energy to do what he could for his friend's jaw before he slumped to the floor, utterly spent and gasping vainly for breath.  He was distantly aware of a hand caressing his cheek.  He spasmed slightly as his ribs creaked suddenly, a burning pain shooting down his side.  Anger and pain were forgotten when he opened his eyes to see Mieren leaning slightly to hold his jaw for a moment longer before falling back to the floor.

"Mieren?" he asked softly, pulling himself to a sitting position, eyes watering slightly at the pale stinging sensation remaining in his ribs.

_Yes, Halo?_ she asked softly, her exhaustion terrifyingly apparent.

"Are you alright?"

_No._

Sage swallowed, hating himself for what he asked next.  "How long?"

_I'd say we have fifteen, maybe twenty minutes left at the very most.  I think I pushed myself a little too hard._

Sage banished his armor, trying to fight back the tears welling in his eyes.

"Isn't there anything you can do?"

The unexpected voice of concern caused Sage to go rigid.  He nearly called his armor again.  Glaring at Dais angrily, he began seriously considering ways to kill the man.  He might have done it if he had had the energy to spare.

"No," he snapped, unwilling to show any patience to the man who had essentially killed Kento and Mieren both.

"Mieren?" Rowen called softly, dropping to his knees beside her, eyes glistening.

_Yes?_  Her thought was barely discernable is his mind.

"I there _anything_ that can be done?"

_The only way for myself to survive at the moment is to get Kento off of my life force, and the only way I'm going to do that is if there's a way to keep him alive in the process._

"What about Turriv?" Sage asked slowly, hoping Kento wouldn't kill him for this.

_Turriv?  You can't be serious, Halo.  You know he cannot heal anything more than lacerations, and the great cats never merge with anything besides other great cats._

Sage took a deep breath, growing desperate.  "But you said he was half demon."

_That I did.  The great cats are immune to most poisons, so I guess it would be possible… _she trailed off, opening her eyes slowly to regard him carefully.  _How can you suggest this?  You know what you ask._

"I don't care," he whispered, eyes burning.  "I can't watch him die."

Mieren sighed and was silent for a moment.  The front door crashed open as Turriv and White Blaze bounded in, the cougar darting over to Mieren as the tiger migrated towards Ryo.  Turriv's eyes widened slightly and he stepped back, looking between Kento and Mieren slowly.  He sat down slowly, eyes closed.

Sage blinked.  He could _almost_ hear the conversation passing between them.  He nearly jumped out of his skin when Ryo placed one hand on his shoulder.

"What's going on?"

"We found a way to save Kento and Mieren," Sage said almost inaudibly.

"How?" Ryo asked, not liking the pained look in Sage's eyes.

"Turriv," he whimpered, closing his eyes.

Sage didn't need to say anything further.  Ryo understood.  He slid to the floor beside his friend, jaw quivering.

"If the cougar can save him, why are you so upset?" Dais asked in confusion, scaring Ryo out of several years of his life.

"What the hell is _he_ still doing here?!" he demanded.

"Dais blasted Cale," Sage said bluntly, Rowen nodding numbly in agreement as he moved over closer to the others, dragging Cye with him.

"_What?_" Ryo hissed, face darkening dangerously.

"All I know is that Mieren was facing Dais one moment, and the next, she was saving me from Cale.  Dais shot him just before Cale killed her," Rowen murmured absently, throat constricting when he realized what they were planning.

"Um, what is going on?" Dais asked, not receiving an answer for a second time.

"Guys, you're not planning to do what I think you are, are you?" Mia asked softly, eyeing Dais nervously.

"Planning what?" Dais asked, beginning to grow slightly miffed at being ignored.

"Are you sure this is the only way to save him?" Cye asked groggily, eyeing Dais askance but not saying anything when he noticed that the others were apparently ignoring the baffled Warlord.  Dais growled angrily, unused to being so thoroughly disregarded.

Sage closed his eyes, unwilling to watch what he knew was coming.  Curling into a ball, knees pulled tightly to his chest, he dropped his head into his arms and began to weep silently.  Dais's jaw dropped when he realized the boy sitting next to him was crying, unable to see any reason for it.  Looking up, he received his answer.

Having finished his conversation with Mieren, the massive cougar walked over to Kento uncertainly, looking at Mieren one last time.  Placing one enormous paw on the boy's back, the great cat closed his eyes in concentration, golden flames licking his rigid form gently.  The cougar pulled him onto the floor roughly, rolling him onto his stomach effortlessly.  Kento's armor vanished abruptly, leaving him clad only in the boxers he had been sleeping in, those vanishing in a swirl of disintegrated fabric.  Turriv lay down on top of the prostrate boy, drawing a deep breath and bracing himself as the flames around him leapt higher.  Relaxing completely, he seemed to melt, his entire form liquefying and swirling around the unconscious boy beneath him.

Dais's jaw had long since contacted his armor's breastplate, his one remaining eye threatening to roll out of its socket.  He hadn't realized he'd been backing up until his back contacted the wall.  Throat constricting, he became aware that the four Ronins gathered around him had moved over to their friend along with the woman who had been staring at him earlier.  The girl only watched from where she lay, obviously too tired to pull herself over to where the others had gathered.

Drawing a deep breath, Dais moved over to where the others had gathered, realizing for the first time what must have happened to Ryo and Sage.  Getting a good look at Kento, he decided that it would have been better if he had stayed on the other side of the room, pressed against the wall.

The thing on the floor didn't look like the Ronin he had remembered fighting so many times in the past, resembling instead some horrid cross between a human and cougar, not really favoring one over the other.  His body shape appeared to be basically human, if one could ignore the fact that he was covered in fur from the top of his head to the tip of the very long tail he now sported.  His head and feet resembled a cougar more than anything, but his hands seemed to be completely human, excluding the fur covering them completely and the wicked claws tipping his fingers.

Kento was rousing slowly, muttering obscenities that caused Dais's cheeks to heat furiously.  Rowen repeated one of the vulgarities silently, mouthing the words as if committing them to memory for future use.  Dais realized suddenly that they boy had no idea what had happened to him yet and began to wonder if he should hide out somewhere until after they broke the news to him.  If he was saying things like that when they were just helping him to his feet, Dais had no intention of being around when he found out what had happened.  He turned to find a place to hide a moment too late.

"What the hell…" were the only words out of Kento's mouth before he began cursing in earnest, the very mildest of the upcoming phrases causing Dais to choke in shock.  Even Sehkmet wasn't that vulgar.

Dais was looking around frantically for a place to hide when he heard something that made his blood run cold.

"What is _he_ doing here?"

"Ah shit," Dais breathed, bolting for the door, eternally grateful that he was still wearing his armor.

He wasn't fast enough.  Kento slammed into him before he had taken two steps, driving him face-first into the floor, effectively pinning him there.  Dais yelped loudly as he felt claws sinking into his back through his armor, struggling to regain his feet to leave until Kento calmed down long enough to agree not to kill him.

He blinked when the weight was suddenly lifted from his back, rolling to his side carefully to look around.  Rolling around on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs were Kento and the black-clad girl he had saved from Cale earlier.  The struggle only lasted for a few seconds, Kento pinning her firmly to the ground as she panted desperately for air.

Dais shifted uncomfortably as Kento eyed him carefully, preparing to spring from the looks of it.  He raised his hands slowly, hoping that his surrender would be accepted.  He wasn't in a mood to fight at the moment, especially against someone who looked to be stronger than himself.

The decision was taken from both of them as Cye resolutely stepped between them, arms crossed angrily.  Rowen joined him without hesitating, Ryo and Sage following more slowly.  The brunette woman was just sitting on the floor, curled up tightly, shoulders quivering slightly with her sobbing.

"Whose side are you on?" Kento demanded furiously.

"Yours, I guess," Dais murmured softly, brows furrowing as he studied the floor, not realizing that the boy had been talking to his friends.

Kento let out a blood-curdling growl that he cut off immediately when he realized what he was doing.  Eyeing everyone quickly, he darted out of the room, apparently up the stairs from the sound of it.

"He's taking this better than I did," Sage muttered, eyeing Dais carefully, obviously not sure what to do with him.

"Ryo, move it," Cye snapped.

"Why me?"

"It has to be you or Sage, and I think that Kento's more likely to listen to you considering whose suggestion this was."

"You're not insinuating that we tell him, are you?" Sage yelped, eyes panicked.

"If we don't, Kento'll try to kill Mieren again," Rowen murmured.

"So it's better that she try to kill me?" he wailed.

"We'll figure it out later," Cye muttered.  "Move it, Ryo."

"Great," Ryo intoned dryly, stumping up the stairs after his friend.

"You're all nuts," Dais wailed.  "How can you be taking this so calmly?"

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened, you know," Rowen said dryly, not really paying attention to him, his eyes focused on Mieren.

"Is she okay?" Cye asked softly.

"I think so," Rowen said, picking her up gently and heading upstairs with the girl dangling from his arms, apparently unconscious again.

Cye looked over at Dais, blinking in consideration before turning to Sage.  "So what do we do with him?"

"Not a clue.  What do you think Mia?"

Mia looked up, scrubbing her eyes with the back of one hand.  "I don't care."

"I'm still in the room," Dais said loudly, eyebrows shooting towards his hairline when they still didn't seem to notice him.

"You think he's actually on our side, Cye?" Sage asked slowly.

"I could check, I think.  I'm not very good with spells like that yet."

"I'm not deaf, you must realize," Dais informed them dryly, only to be completely ignored again.

A loud yelp, a crash of glass, and a resounding thud came from upstairs.  Sage and Cye only glanced at the ceiling before continuing with their conversation, not noticing Dais's incredulous look.

"Don't tell me that's a common occurrence too," he muttered, not expecting an answer and not getting one.

"Do you have enough energy to cast a spell right now?" Sage asked slowly.

"I'm doing better in the energy department than you are."

"That isn't saying much."

"I think I'll try it anyway."

"And I think I'll strip off my armor and clothes and just stretch out on the couch comfortably and take a nap completely naked since you don't seem to realize I exist," Dais said cheerfully, banishing his armor to leave him standing in an old-fashioned kimono.

Mia glared at him angrily.  "Try it and see what it gets you," she hissed.

"At last!" he called out joyously as he lifted his arms triumphantly, voice dripping with sarcasm.  "They realize that I'm here!"

"Mia, would you like us to pound him into the floor?" Sage asked in all seriousness, which only goaded Dais to tweak them a bit further.

"Ah, so the lovely lady has a name.  Would you care to join me on the couch, Mia?" he said in the most alluring voice he could manage, raising one eyebrow at her.

"Which would you prefer, Mia?  Slow and painful, or quick and more painful?"

"Come now, Cye, we can give her a few more options than that."

"Sure thing.  Skinned, fried, boiled, gutted, lynched, impaled, bludgeoned, drowned, maimed, or a combination of the previously listed?  Even worse, we could subject him to Rowen's cooking for awhile."

"Feed him Rowen's cooking?  There's no need to be _that_ cruel.  I opt for just disemboweling him and being done with it."

"Wait just a minute, Sage.  I thought that this was Mia's choice."

"I say go for all of the above," she growled.

Dais blanched.  They _had_ to be kidding.

When he paled, Cye moved over to him, grinning happily.  "Hold still.  This won't take more than a minute or so."

Dais looked at him as though he had lost his marbles, wondering if he ever had them to begin with.  Cye noticed his look and laughed.

"I'm just checking to see where your loyalties lie.  Now hold still," he snickered, ignoring the foul looks Dais was directing at him.

Dais watched him carefully, quickly losing track of the intricate swirls of turquoise flames as the boy wove them into a complicated pattern.

"Now whose side are you on?" Cye murmured.

"Couldn't you have just asked me that a second ago instead of doing whatever the hell you just did?"

"Not a chance."

"Well, after what I just did to Cale, I think I'm on your side," he muttered dryly.

"Well, Cye?" Sage asked slowly.

Cye made a face before answering.  "I think we're stuck with him.  He was telling the truth."

"Is that what that spell did?"

"I wonder if Ryo wants a roommate," Sage mused, grinning slightly.

"Probably not.  Maybe we could just let him sleep on the couch for awhile."

"I thought you didn't want me on the couch," Dais began again, praying that they would stop ignoring him eventually.

"I don't want him in the living room," Mia hissed.

"That's probably for the best.  I like to sleep in the nude."

"Are you sure you don't want us to do something to him?" Cye asked.

"Not if you make a mess," Mia muttered.

A mortified yelp echoed from upstairs, followed by a loud thud and the sound of retreating footsteps.  Dais looked at the ceiling, his one eye widening.

"Are you sure this happens all the time?" he wailed.

Sage sighed.  "If it will make you feel better, I'll go check on them," he said soothingly, voice dripping with sarcasm.  Without waiting for a response, he levered himself to his feet, groaning and clutching his side.

"Ribs still hurt?" Cye asked softly, brows furrowing in concern.

"Yea, a bit."

_Tough it out for a bit, Halo.  I'm too tired to heal you any further than that._

Sage looked up at the ceiling, frowning slightly.  "Mieren appears to be awake."

"Which means that Rowen'll be awake too," Cye snickered.

"Ah hell," Sage muttered.  "If Mieren is up all night, then she's probably going to sleep in.  Who's going to wake Rowen tomorrow?"

"I'm not going in there," Cye said quickly.

"Neither am I," Mia seconded.

"I think I'll stay down here tonight," Sage said slowly, eyeing the couch.

"Then where do I stay?" Dais asked, beginning to grow irritated again.

"You can sleep on the roof for all I care," Mia said absently.

"I think I would find your room much more comfortable."

"I think you're asking for it," Mia hissed.

Sage scrubbed his hands through his already tangled hair.  "I'll crash in Ryo's room tonight.  Dais can have the couch."

Mia opened her mouth to protest, clicking her teeth shut when she decided that any argument at this point in time would just be a waste of breath.

"Speaking of Ryo, how do you think he's doing?" Cye murmured.

"I'll go check.  If he's not having any luck with Kento, I may be able to help," Sage said slowly, obviously wondering if he would return in one piece.

*     *     *

Sage knocked softly on the door to Kento's room, wincing at the answering crash sounding from within.  Pushing open the door, he entered warily, eyeing the chaos within and wondering how Ryo could have survived this long.

"Kento," he began, cutting off as all of the air in his lungs rushed out between his teeth as Kento careened into him, pinning him to the floor, golden eyes blazing.  Sage cried out in pain, clutching his side.  "Watch the ribs!"

"Hey, Sage!  Glad to see you here," Ryo called, brushing himself off stiffly.

"Kento, you know perfectly well you can change back, so calm down," Sage said through clenched teeth as he tried to push Kento off of him.

"How in the hell could you do this to me?!" Kento shrieked.

Sage paled.  "You told him?" he breathed, eyes bulging.

Ryo shook his head vehemently.  "He already knew.  He wasn't awake, Sage, but he knew.  He keeps saying something about a diamond being taken and golden flames rising in the night."

Sage winced as thick claws sank into his shoulders, trying frantically to think of something to say.  He blinked suddenly, looking at Kento more closely.

"Hey!  Your eye's back!"

Kento snarled at him wordlessly, a murderous expression appearing on his face.  He drew back one arm to slap Sage, claws extended.  Sage's eyes widened and he threw Kento across the room, scrambling to his feet quickly when Kento rebounded off of the wall and charged him again.  Without thinking, Sage concentrated slightly, drawing in more energy to keep his friend from his throat.  Kento skidded to a stop in his charge, eyes wide.

Ryo blinked.  "I didn't know you could do that."

Sage looked at his friends in confusion for a moment before looking into one of Cye's mirrors.  He blanched at what he had done.  He raised one hand to his face in disbelief, blinking to clear his eyes.  Excluding his golden eyes, he looked exactly like a gray version Ryo did when he transformed, only lacking the wings.

"Since when could _you_ turn into a wolf?" Kento demanded.

"Since about thirty seconds ago," he murmured.

Kento snorted loudly, settling to the floor slowly as he eyed his friends askance.

"I wish I had thought of that," Ryo snickered, eyes dancing.  "He's been mopping the floor with me since I came up here."

"I seriously doubt that, Ryo.  You've seen his side of the room.  I can't see him doing any sort of cleaning."

"Ha ha," Kento muttered.  "Now what?"

Sage looked at him for a moment, making a face at his friend.  "As soon as I figure out how to turn back, then I'll see if I can teach you."

"I thought you already knew how to change back," Ryo said slowly.

"That was a little different.  I have no idea where this form came from, so I'm not quite sure how to go about changing it."

"Shouldn't it be the same?" Ryo asked curiously.

"Obviously not," Sage snapped.

Before Ryo had time to ask anything further, emerald flames rose abruptly around Sage for a mere moment, nearly blinding in intensity.  When they winked out a second later, Sage was standing as he had been before coming into the room.  Muttering something about a new form requiring new levels of concentration and shrugging slightly, he turned to Kento.

"Now pay attention, or this could take forever."

"It will anyway.  You know how thick his skull is," Ryo smirked.

"Remind me to kill you both later," Kento grumped, earning amused and slightly wary looks from both Ryo and Sage.

To Be Continued…

I'm working on fighting the computer for the old files.  Have patience.   Let me know you adore and worship me for so far conquering the evil demons of electronics.  R&R!


	8. Part 8

Midnight Shadows

Part 8

By Mieren

Cye and Mia froze in cooking breakfast when Kento's groggy voice rose from behind them.

"Hey, what's for breakfast?"

Cye threw an irritated look across his shoulder.  "You could have told me that you two succeeded last night in instructing him," he grumbled.

"Why?  You found out soon enough, didn't you?" Ryo asked sweetly, elbowing Sage in the arm and grinning.

A muscle in Cye's cheek twitched.  "Go get Rowen up."

Ryo paled slightly.  "Um, Kento, go get Rowen up."

Kento snorted.  "Hell no.  Sage, go wake Rowen."

Sage blanched.  "Um, Mia…"

"Don't even think it," she snapped.

Licking his lips slightly, he stood up to carry out his suicide mission when a thought struck him.  He grinned and darted into the living room.

"Hey Dais.  Dais, you up?"  Sage's voice drifted in from the next room.

Cye grinned, eyes shining happily.  "He's in for a surprise if he thinks he can wake Dais," he murmured.  "I tried to wake him a little while ago.  He sleeps just as heavy as Rowen."

"Is that possible?" Ryo mumbled.

To get their answer, they all quieted down and tried to listen to what was going on in the living room.

"Hey Dais.  Dais!  Get your ass off of that couch before I release Mia on you!"

Dais darted into the kitchen, a thick blanket hugged around him and a haunted expression on his face.  Cye pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"I never thought of that," he drawled slowly.

Sage trotted in behind him triumphantly, a wide grin splitting his face.

"Hey Dais, go wake up Rowen.  He's upstairs in the second room on the right."

Dais stared at him blankly.  "You got me up so that I could wake Rowen?"

"You got it."

Grumbling loudly, he stumped up the stairs.  Mia and the Ronins listened expectantly, grins already forming on their faces.

There was a loud pounding from upstairs.  "Hey Rowen, get your lazy ass up."  There was a moment of silence followed by a soft creaking as a door was opened.  "Do I have to drag you out of bed?"  Another moment of silence followed.  "What the hell…" Dais's confused voice drifted down the stairs, so soft that the Ronins could barely hear it.  Glass crashed loudly from upstairs, followed by a bloodcurdling scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I think that you need a new window, Mia," Ryo gasped out, staggering towards the front door to let a very angry Dais back into the house.

"Rowen's up," he snapped, sending the guys into convulsions.

"We gathered as much," Kento chortled.

"Are you still wondering why I got you up just to wake Rowen?" Sage snickered.

"I think I've figured it out," Dais spat sarcastically, scowl darkening at their continued chuckling.  "You could have at least told me that the girl was up there too."

"We thought you knew," Sage smirked.

"Would you like breakfast now?" Cye asked, trying to mollify the furious former Warlord glaring angrily at all of them.

*     *     *

Halfway through breakfast, Sage began eyeing Mieren thoughtfully.  Noting his watchful expression, she reached across the table and snagged his hand, snowy flames surrounding them both for a moment as she finished healing his ribs.  Blinking in confusion, Sage poked himself in the side experimentally before smiling slightly.

"Thanks, but that's not what I was thinking about," Sage murmured.

_Then what?_

He began bluntly, "Would you care to explain a few of those spells you were throwing around in the city?"

_Spells?_ Mieren asked innocently.

"You know.  How you were drawing so much energy when trying to heal Kento, and how you managed to make it look like you were decapitated."

_Oh, those spells,_ she grimaced.

Noticing that Kento was paying strict attention to what she was saying, she snagged his plate of waffles out from under his nose.  Kento blinked, the realization that his favorite food had been stolen from him taking a moment to register.  In the small war that ensued, Dais chuckled softly.

"Tell me this doesn't happen every morning," he snickered.

"Just about," Mia muttered.

"Mieren, would you stop tormenting Kento?" Cye asked softly.

"I'd like to know why Kento is acting so nice this morning considering what happened to him yesterday," Dais murmured.

"You'd have to bring that up, wouldn't you," Sage snapped.

Kento grimaced, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be fighting for his breakfast.  "It was the only way they could save me," he said softly, throwing a halfhearted glare at Sage.

_I would have done it myself had they come up with nothing else.  I was hoping they would figure out something so I wouldn't have to ask Turriv such a thing.  I must admit I was rather shocked when Halo suggested it._

Dais scowled darkly.  "With as old as you are, and I know you're old because you won't tell me your age, you could have done something."

_Not really.  I did what I did because I would rather have all of them hate me for the rest of their lives than to stand back and watch one of them die knowing perfectly well that I could have saved him._

Dais flinched as though struck, shrinking back in his chair and growing silent.  He noticed that all the others had gone silent as well, only Rowen meeting Mieren's gaze.  Kento ceased trying to reclaim his plate of waffles and shuffled across the kitchen to get another plate for himself.

Sage cleared his throat.  "Now, about the spells?"

_With the one where I was trying to heal Kento, I said that I was cheating.  I had a spell going that summoned energy and I had tied my life force into what I was doing.  That is where I was getting all of that energy that you couldn't account for._

Sage nodded slowly.  "And the other one?"

Without answering, Mieren extended one hand directly over the center of the table, closing her eyes and concentrating fiercely.  Clenching her fingers into a fist, she set her hand down gently on the table, horrifying everyone when she pulled her arm back, leaving her hand on the table, her wrist separating as though it were runny taffy.  Looking at her stump of a right arm, Mieren grinned slightly, holding it up for all to see before reforming her hand out of her arm.  Looking around, she decided that Dais and Sage looked decidedly ill.  Mia looked ready to faint.

Holding her new hand above the fist she had left on the table, Mieren resumed her spell.  The fist on the table melted into a rough spherical shape under the glowing strands of light surrounding it, slowly taking shape before seven sets of incredulous eyes.  A tiny white dragon with teal eyes rose to a sitting position on the table, small enough to fit comfortably in someone's palm.

"What did you just do?" Sage whispered without tearing his eyes away from the beast on the table.

_I performed the same spell I did early yesterday morning._

"Which is?" Ryo prompted.

_A little trick I learned a few centuries ago.  I can split myself and my attention in several directions at once, effectively creating more warriors running around.  I was taught the trick by someone who stumbled upon it by accident.  All of the separate selves are controlled by the original.  If one of the copies dies, nothing really happens, but if the original dies, then all die._

"So it's basically a second set of eyes and ears?" Dais asked slowly, watching with interest as the tiny dragon climbed into her outstretched hand, reabsorbed immediately as Mieren closed her fingers around it.

_Just about.  But I believe that if I altered the spell slightly and used a second person, I could reproduce._

Rowen choked on a bite of waffle, face aflame.  Sage swatted him on the back to help him out, laughing uproariously at his friend's expression.  Even Dais began chuckling at his burning face.

Mieren made a face at Rowen.  _We could do it the old fashioned way if you prefer._

At the suggestion, everyone except Rowen went into another fit of laughter.  Rowen's face deepened from pink to crimson to purple before he darted out of the room, his retreating form followed by peals of laughter.

"That wasn't very nice," Cye snickered, tears rolling from his eyes.

_Wasn't true either.  What's your point?_

"You mean you can't cast that spell?" Ryo hiccuped, beginning to tremble slightly as he tried to suppress his laughter when Mieren shook her head.

_No, but I say we have some fun with him.  Who's with me?_

No one in the room had to say anything.  Their laughter answered for them.

_It's settled then.  I'll be back in a minute, _Mieren said as she trotted out of the room, her footsteps disappearing up the stairs.

Sage was about to suggest that they follow her to see what she would do to Rowen, closing his mouth slowly as Mieren sauntered back into the room, a pleased expression on her face.

"Well?" Ryo asked, eyes dancing.

_I just surrounded him with flames and told him that we'd have a kid soon._

"How'd he take it?" Mia snickered.

_He fainted._

Laughter erupted around the table again.  Sage bent over, gasping for breath, tears streaming from his eyes.  He noted that no one was in much better shape than he was.

_Now, we just need someone to play the part of our kid._

The laughter instantly died, six appalled expressions regarding her in horror.

"You can't be serious," Kento mumbled, shifting slightly to put more distance between them.

"Why can't you use your little trick?" Sage asked carefully, edging away from Mieren.  She only grinned and shrugged.

_That wouldn't be as much fun, now would it?_

"I nominate Dais," Cye said quickly, ignoring the murderous glare thrown in his direction but the mortified former Warlord.  He was seconded by all the remaining Ronins and Mia immediately.

_Won't work.  He's too ugly to pass for my kid._

"Gee, thanks," Dais muttered, relieved all the same.  An evil grin spread across his face as he looked up from the table.  "I nominate Cye.  He'll be cute enough, right?"

Cye blanched, backing away slowly from the room, eyes wide.

_He should work fine._

Cye yelped and bolted, landing face first on the floor when Ryo tackled him, laughing hysterically.

"I got him!" he cried out happily.

"Ryo!" Cye wailed, struggling to get up.  Turquoise flames surrounded him for a moment before a milky shield slammed around his mind, preventing him from fighting back as Mieren moved over to him slowly.

_Now, let me see.  Your eyes need to be a bit darker.  Hair needs to be blue as well.  I'll just heighten your cheekbones a little, add some baby fat, and resize you a bit._

Cye wailed pitifully as the world grew larger around him.  Mieren froze when he stopped shrinking, running one finger gently over one of his ears, eyes narrowing.  Cye made a face a tried to pull away from her, knowing that she was staring at the slight points tipping his ears, a feature that he had thankfully grown out of by the time he was five.  Shrugging, she tapped the tips on his ears gently, smoothing out the delicate points before holding him up to show to everyone in the room.

He tried to spit out a curse, only to discover that Mieren had done something to his vocal cords to prevent him from talking and giving away the game.  Kento picked him up roughly and held him out at arm length, face split by a grin.

"You look just like a tiny Rowen," he snickered, laughing at the murderous scowl that darkened his friend's face.  He began to tremble with mirth when Cye threw him the finger and tried to kick his arm.

"I think he gets that from Mieren," Sage choked out around his laughter.

"Do you people do stuff like this all the time?" Dais cried, eye widening when he got a good look at Cye.

"Not this exactly, but we like to have fun at each other's expense," Ryo explained to the baffled man staring blankly at Cye and Kento.

Dais looked at him carefully for a moment, lips twitching.  "I say we present Rowen with his new son."

Kento hooted merrily at the idea, tucking Cye under his arm as he started for the stairs, earning himself a mortified wail from his friend.

"Better yet, lets bring Rowen down here.  More room for us to watch," Ryo said merrily, eyes dancing.

*     *     *

Rowen woke slowly to a variety of torments, finally being drawn into the land of the conscious when a glass of cold water was thrown in his face.  He looked up blearily from the floor of the living room where they had apparently deposited him, making a face at the guys standing around him.

Sage pulled him to his feet, grinning merrily.  Before Rowen had a chance to spit out something that would have made even Dais choke, Kento held up something in front of him that nearly made him faint again.

Ryo steadied his friend as Mieren walked over to him, looping one arm around a very pale Rowen.

Rowen watched, mortified, as Kento handed a tiny version of himself to Mieren, who immediately passed the bundle to him.  Looking down at the tiny replica of himself, he felt his face turn several shades lighter, creating snickers around the room.

His jaw worked for a moment with no sound coming out.  The infant in his arms made a growling sound.  Swallowing uncertainly, he headed for the kitchen, the others following in his wake, Mieren still hanging on him.

Handing the baby back to Mieren, Rowen began rooting around in the fridge and pantry, coming up with a variety of things that no sane person would feed an infant.  Sage choked when he realized that Rowen apparently intended to mix those things together into some unearthly concoction.  He made a face when he saw half the things on the counter.  What in the hell did Rowen think he was doing?  The milk, Sage understood, but the mayonnaise, horseradish, and eggs nearly made him gag.

Seeing the mortified expression on Cye's face, Sage relented and decided to show a little pity for his friend, but not much.

"Rowen!" he snapped.  He continued when Rowen turned around to look at him blankly.  "You can't feed a baby that kind of stuff," he scolded, trying not to grin at the relieved expression on Cye's face.  "Mieren needs to feed him," he managed to choke out, unable to keep a strait face when he saw Cye pale and redden by turns.

Rowen sat down numbly as Mieren nodded agreement, pulling open the front of her buttoned shirt.  Rowen blinked in confusion as the infant wailed pitifully, trying to draw back, face burning.  He looked around blankly when the others tried to choke back fits of laughter.

"Man, would I love to be that infant right now," Sage murmured wistfully, snickering at the irritated look Mieren threw him.

"I don't think he's hungry," Kento supplied, reaching out his arms.

Mieren looked at him for a moment before shrugging and handing the baby to him, buttoning her shirt quickly when she noticed Dais and Sage staring.

Kento tossed his head slightly, heading into the living room with Cye in his arms.  Curiously, the other guys followed, Rowen still staring numbly at the baby in his friend's arms.  Once everyone was in the living room, Kento moved a half a dozen paces away from the others and turned to Ryo.

"Hey, Ryo!  Catch!"

Rowen froze as the baby let out a shriek as Kento launched him across the room, Ryo snagging him out of the air deftly.  Rowen's face purpled and he moved forward to take the infant away from his friend, turning murderous when Ryo threw him to Sage.

A game of keep-away ensued, Rowen growing furious when even Dais joined in, Mia doing nothing to stop the child's torment, only laughing as tears streamed down her face, leaning on Mieren heavily.  Beginning to tremble furiously as the guys continued to toss the baby across the room above his head, he snagged the infant out of the air with ropes of blue flames.  The baby clung to him, panting heavily, fueling his rage.

The infant in his arms looked up at him, blinked, and pointed to the guys where they had gathered behind him, congratulating themselves, and let out a loud wail before clinging to him more tightly, trembling slightly.

Rowen's features turned absolutely murderous as he looked up from the child clinging to him for dear life.  He noticed that they had stiffened and were now looking around the room fearfully for places to hide.  Rowen never gave them the chance.

Cords of power shot around the room, thoroughly whipping all four of the apparently suicidal people trying to hide.  When all of them were satisfactorily cowering on the floor, he spun to leave the room, blinking in confusion when the baby clinging to him began to chuckle softly to himself.

Retreating to his room and locking the door behind him, Rowen looked down at the child in his arms, not exactly sure what to do with him.  Sighing loudly, he sat the baby on his bed, wrapping his comforter around him awkwardly.  The boy looked up at him, making a face before snorting and pointing to his shelves of books, making an odd sound that seemed slightly demanding.  Blinking uncertainly, Rowen began searching through his books, doubting that there would be anything in his collection suitable for a child.  A soft noise caused him to turn his head.  Rowen blinked confusedly when the infant pointed at the books again before folding his pudgy arms across his chest.

Picking up the infant boy, Rowen wandered back to the shelves, running his finger slowly down the row of books while watching the child's expression.  The baby grinned and nodded suddenly.  Stopping his finger instantly, Rowen turned to look at what his hand was on.

"Marine biology, huh?" Rowen murmured, snagging the book from the shelf and plopping down on his bed with the baby in his lap.

The infant pinched him viciously to get his attention before pointing to the book and then himself.  Rowen blinked in confusion.

"You want me to start reading, huh?" he asked softly, baffled when the pudgy little version of himself shook his head and repeated the gesture.

Rowen blinked down at him, not understanding what the child wanted in the slightest.  He wondered idly just how much this child understood.  He was about to guess again what he was supposed to do when he was pinched a second time.  Looking down, he nearly jumped out of his skin and dropped the baby when his eyes abruptly shifted to a brilliant ruby.  Squinting at him, the baby pointed to the book and to himself again.

Rowen's eyes narrowed when he looked at the crimson gaze holding him.  "You most certainly didn't get that from me," he muttered.

The child made a face, gave him the finger and pointed demandingly to the floor.  Rowen set him down before he was pinched again, watching curiously as the infant scrambled awkwardly across the floor, snagging up a loose pen in his tiny hands.  Yelping softly, Rowen took the pen away from him, unwilling to endanger his books.

The child made a demanding sound, pointing to the pen in his hands and looking around for a moment before gesturing towards a notebook.

"Well, I guess that'd be alright," he murmured, handing the pen to the infant and opening the notebook to a blank page.  He plopped down on the floor, watching as the child popped the cap off of the pan and began scribbling on the paper with the pen clenched in one fist.  After a moment, he looked up at Rowen, pointing at the paper demandingly.  Rowen leaned forward curiously.

"What the hell…" he muttered, blinking in shock at the clearly scrawled words on the page.  "Hmm, 'I'm Cye, you idiot.'  Why the hell didn't you say something?" Rowen grumped, looking up from his notebook with a sour expression on his face.

For an answer, the tiny Cye tapped his throat, scowling darkly.

"And I suppose that you want me to do something," Rowen said sarcastically, earning himself an irritated nod.

Rowen sighed, summoning a small amount of energy to him as he prodded at the shields around his friend.  Making a face, he slashed one of the simpler spells.

"Thank you!" Cye gasped out.  "That was getting beyond annoying."

Rowen grinned at him for a second before starting again, poking a second snowy strand, noting wryly that the spells were hidden quite well.  In a sudden flurry, Cye's hair grew longer, falling halfway down his tiny back in reddish brown waves while his eyes lightened from sapphire to a light sea blue.

"We're getting there," Rowen murmured to Cye's impatient expression.

"You realize that we're going to have to do something to them for this," Cye hissed angrily.

"Later, Cye, unless you want to go out there looking like that."

Cye shook his head violently, motioning for Rowen to continue working.  Rowen immediately began again, wishing he had half Cye's skill in working with things like this.  Growling a few words that caused Cye to blink in shock, he slashed at one of the final two spells, watching triumphantly as the weave shattered and his friend suddenly began to expand rapidly, clutching the comforter off of the bed to cover himself.

"One more," Cye muttered, tapping the side of his head.

"Just a minute.  You know I'm not very good with stuff like this."

Cye nodded impatiently.  Rowen leaned forward, studying the last weave and making a face before shattering the final shimmering strands.  An inferno of turquoise flames immediately shot up around his friend, who grinned happily as he began rooting around through Rowen's clothes for something that might fit him.

"I can't believe that it took you that long to figure it out," Cye grumped as he dressed quickly.

"In my defense, I was distracted," Rowen muttered.  "I'd like to see you do better under similar circumstances."

"Didn't you even notice that I was missing?"

"I just thought that you had too much sense to join in the torment."

"Gee, thanks."

Finished dressing in clothes that were far too long and baggy for him, Cye jumped up and darted out of the room, motioning for Rowen to follow.  Rowen didn't hesitate before trailing his friend, several spells halfway woven and ready to throw.  He nearly jumped out of his skin when he almost ran over Mieren on the way out.  She grinned happily at him, eyes sparkling.

_Took you long enough._

"You realize that you're dead," Rowen grumbled.

_Come now.  Is that any way to treat your assistant in chaos?_

"Whose side are you on?" Cye snapped, seconded by Rowen's scowl.

_Whoever's on the offensive._

Rowen looked at Cye for a moment before grinning merrily and nodding.  Cye regarded her sourly for a moment, face growing red, before deciding that she had a great imagination and nodding acceptance.

*     *     *

Sage nursed his bruises, wishing fervently that he wasn't the only one in the room to be able to heal wounds, Mieren having vanished in a fit of laughter.  Ryo and Kento were exchanging an occasional blow, arguing over who was to blame for being pounded, occasionally throwing a punch at Dais, who only grinned and kept out of their way.  Mia still snickered fitfully, watching as Kento cracked Ryo on the back of his head with an open-palmed slap.

"Having fun, guys?" Cye said sweetly.  Too sweetly.

Everyone in the room stiffened instantly, turning slowly to face Cye leaning against the doorframe, Rowen and Mieren standing behind him, all three wearing identical vicious smirks.  Mieren walked a pace forward, raising her fist towards the ceiling.  Everyone immediately stepped back.

Turquoise cords pinned Kento and Dais to the ground suddenly as sapphire cords circled Sage and held him in check.  Ryo looked around at the others, abandoning them to their fates as he tried to dart out of the room, falling to the floor painfully as Mieren careened into him.  The two grappled with each other for a moment before Mieren lashed Ryo to the ground with snowy ropes of power.

_What should I do with him, Torrent?_

"The same thing you did to me," he growled, throwing her a feral smile.

Ryo whimpered and bucked as the world suddenly grew larger, his clothes becoming baggy and enveloping him.  Released suddenly, he struggled with his clothes before scrambling out of the room on all fours before they decided to do something further to him.  Darting by Cye and Rowen, he scrambled through the door, running face-first into Mia.  Mia looked down at him for a moment in shock before she began to laugh uproariously, plucking him off of the floor.

"Ryo, is that you?" she snickered.  She hooted at his reluctant nod.  "You make such a cute puppy," she called out loudly as she walked back into the living room.

Sage stared in partial horror at the winged puppy that Mia was holding, almost snickering at his friend's plight.  Almost.  He began to buck furiously when he realized what Mieren was about to do to the rest of them.  He paled when she moved over to Kento, shimmering white flames enveloping them both for a moment before holding up a tiny cougar kitten, a grin splitting her face.

Sage whimpered miserably when she moved over to him, milky flames licking her slender form gently.  He felt something in him shift, tearing slightly, as the world began to expand.  He scrambled to his feet when Mieren stood up, blinking numbly when he found himself reaching her mid-thigh.  Looking over himself quickly, he discovered that he was now in the form of a tiny centaur colt, to the infinite amusement of Mia, Cye, and Rowen.  He looked up at Dais's furious shout.

"Don't you dare!"

_Why not?_

"I'll kill you if you even think about turning me in an infant!"

_I could turn you into a woman if you prefer._

Dais blanched, trying to squirm away.  "Have pity," he whimpered.

_And what do I get out of this?_

"Anything you want," he wailed.

_Pathetic, a grown man sniveling to escape harmless revenge for a practical joke.  Ah well, so be it.  I'll call upon you for a favor later, and you had better do it.  Agreed?_

Dais nodded quickly, willing to do anything to evade Cye and Rowen's fury.

"That is NOT fair," Sage snapped in a high soprano, creating a few snickers around the room.

_Quit bitching!  You got it easy,_ Ryo snapped, struggling in Mia's grip.

"I just don't see why Cye's so mad.  After the scenery he got to see," Sage sighed.

Cye reddened.  "Mieren," he called out darkly.  "Do something else to Sage."

Sage squeaked and tried to dart out of the room, landing heavily on the floor when a cougar kitten darted beneath him, tangling his legs.

"Kento!"

_Hey!  You did get it easier than us.  I'm only trying to make this fair._

Mieren looked at the two of them carefully for a moment.  _When did you learn to speak through your minds like that?_

_Watching Sage while trying to teach him to shapeshift,_ Ryo growled.

_Just now_, Kento snapped, trying his hardest to take off a few of Mieren's fingers when she bent down to move him out of her way.  She only grinned at him.

"In desperation to talk to Ryo," Sage spat, trying to squirm out of her grasp.

Mieren grinned down at him.  _Hey Dais._

"Yea?" he asked carefully, inching closer.

_Go upstairs and give him a bath, _Mieren said, dropping Sage into his arms.

"Is that the favor?" he asked incredulously, eyeing the incredibly furious fifty-pound centaur squirming in his grip.

_Not a chance.  I just thought that it'd piss him off._

"You're not going to do something else to him?" Cye wailed.

_You do something to him.  I don't feel too good at the moment._

_And you don't deserve to after what you did to us,_ Kento spat.

Ryo blinked.  _What do you mean, 'don't feel too good'?_

"Don't tell me you're actually worried about her!" Sage cried out as he struggled with Dais, managing to get in a good kick to the man's groin.  Dais groaned and nearly dropped him, his eye looking as though it was crossing slightly.

_I mean that I cast too many complicated spells and my head is killing me._

"Tough," Sage muttered.  His sentiments were immediately seconded by Ryo and Kento, to the great amusement of Cye and Mia.  Rowen frowned worriedly.

"You okay?" he asked, looping one arm around Mieren's waist.  She nodded slightly, all of the blood draining from her face.  Rowen pushed her onto the couch when she began to wobble unsteadily, her face taking on a decidedly greenish tinge.

Mieren's eyes rolled back into her head before she was even properly seated on the couch, slumping limply in Rowen's arms.  Dais let out a startled wail followed by a pained grunt just as Ryo let out a mortified shriek.  Rowen glanced around, unable to decide whether to laugh at his friends or turn his attention to Mieren.

Kento had expanded to his full size, shifting human immediately as the spell holding him in the form of a cougar dissipated, quietly slipping out of the room with what little shred of dignity remained to him.

Sage had regained his full size at an alarming speed, effectively squashing Dais under his enormous bulk before the second spell wore off, leaving him sitting completely naked in the older man's arms for a moment before darting out of the room after Kento, face aflame.

Ryo had the worst of it, Rowen immediately decided.  Both spells having worn off of him at approximately the same time, he hung precariously from Mia's arms, not wearing a stitch of clothing.  He squirmed frantically, face redder than his yoroi, as he struggled to get away from Mia, who was laughing hysterically and refusing to put him down as she called for someone to get the camera.  Naturally, Cye complied immediately, snapping a few shots of the two of them before Ryo managed to escape.

Rowen turned back to Mieren, amusement forgotten as he studied her pale cheeks.  He softly called her name, shaking her gently when she didn't respond.  Mia and Cye wandered over to where she lay, eventually joined by Dais once he managed to peel himself off of the floor.

"What's wrong with her?" Dais asked slowly, nursing his bruises.

"I'm not sure.  She's never done this before," Rowen whispered, studying her the best he was able with his limited skills.  "I don't see anything wrong with her."

Mieren's eyes snapped open suddenly, crimson orbs darting around the room before shifting to a liquid jade.  Her mouth tightened.

_Who the hell warded this room against magic?_ she snapped, eyes blazing.

"Warded?" Rowen asked, worry replaced by confusion.

_Interesting.  None of you have the skill required to do such a thing_, she mused, pushing herself off of the couch.  _Someone else is, or was, here.  Call the others._

"No need for that," an amused voice came from behind them.

"Sehkmet!" Dais hissed, calling his subarmor.  Rowen and Cye followed suit immediately, Mia darting out of the room to get the others.

Mieren raised herself to her full height, towering above Rowen by almost half of a foot as she straitened her back.  _That was pathetic, Warlord.  An infant can set a better warding than that.  Who trained you, a senile drake?_

Sehkmet raised his hands and stepped back, banishing his armor to stand only in his subarmor, hoping they wouldn't pulverize him before he could explain.  He immediately wished that he had at least kept his helmet when he was greeted by a round of horrified stares.

"What the hell happened to you?" Dais breathed as he took in the man's half-melted flesh and damaged subarmor.

"Torrent's spell was stronger than you can imagine.  I only set up the warding hoping to talk to you without you killing me on the spot," he said quickly, still backing away warily.

"What do you want?" Rowen snapped.

"Just to talk to Dais for a minute."

"Why?" Cye growled venomously, not waiting for an explanation.  "_Turning against the light, an angel falls from the earth. He has been banished by the light of the world…_" Sehkmet swallowed and stepped back, eyes bulging.

_NOT IN THE HOUSE!!!_ Mieren shrieked in his mind, cutting him short.

Rowen blinked.  "What in the hell were you saying, Cye?  I don't even recognize the language."

_That was the Exodus spell in my language.  I assume that's what he did to the Warlord of Venom during our last battle judging by the way that this idiot is freaking._

"Damn straight," he muttered, watching Cye warily.  "That thing melted my armor to me.  Hell, my armor just finished repairing itself enough where I could get out of it.  I'm going to be stuck in my subarmor for awhile, though."

"Why do you want to talk to Dais?" Rowen growled, sapphire flames appearing around him in a small inferno.

"What in the hell is _he_ doing here?" Sage snapped as he darted into the room in his subarmor, Ryo and Kento following immediately behind him.

"Let me talk to him for a minute," Dais murmured, looking at the others.  "Alone, if you don't mind."

_I'll stay here.  Everyone else will leave,_ Mieren said firmly, looking around at the others demandingly.  Reluctantly, all of the Ronins wandered into the next room, throwing warning glares at Sehkmet as they left.

"Isn't that the girl that's been terrorizing us?" Sehkmet asked slowly.

Dais nodded immediately.  "Why?"

"Isn't she still trying to kill you?"  Dais shook his head.

"She didn't even really fight me in that last battle.  She just talked."

Sehkmet looked at her uncertainly, deciding to get to the point while the Ronins weren't in the room.  "You know why I'm here."

Dais nodded slowly.  "I know.  They sent you to bring me back with more hollow promises, right?" he growled sourly.

Sehkmet flinched, scrubbing one hand through mostly melted hair roughly.  He opened his mouth to say more when the girl watching him snagged his head in her hands and began studying him carefully.  He gasped as his entire body began to tingle, struggling to pull free of her grasp, astounded by her strength.

Taking a deep breath when she released him, he absently pushed a lock of dark green hair out of his face, freezing before his hand had cleared his ear.  Experimentally running his hands through his hair, he realized in shock that his hair was back and that his face hadn't stung when he touched it.  Banishing his subarmor, he studied his skin, half expecting it to still be charred.  Blinking slowly, he looked up from the pinkish skin covering his hands to the girl regarding him carefully from where she had claimed a seat on the couch.

"Why did you do that?" he mumbled into the still room.

_Do you want me to undo it?  I just thought it was unnecessarily cruel to see you running around barbecued like that.  Torrent shouldn't have been casting that particular spell anyway._

Sehkmet nodded numbly.  "I see why you wouldn't want to leave," he murmured.

"Yea.  It's kind of nice here, assuming you can get used to the insanity."

_I resent that_.

"You would, being the source," Dais muttered.

_Gee, thanks._

Sehkmet grinned at the interchange between the two, trying to remember the last time they had joked around like that.  He sighed.  "If you're not coming, I have to be going before someone is sent after me."

_You could stay here,_ Mieren offered, beating Dais to the offer by a heartbeat.  She watched the Warlord expectantly as he struggled with himself, obviously loath to leave his friend.  She idly wondered how long the two had known each other.  Both she and Dais watched, disappointed, as Sehkmet shook his head and stood to leave.

"Why not?"

"I told you, they'll just send someone to bring us back."

_If they do, do you not think that seven armored warriors and one demon could take them?  Surely you remember how dangerous we are in battle._

Sehkmet paused in rising from the floor.  "It would be nice to stay for awhile," he murmured, eyeing the room as though lost.

_Best friends, huh?_ Mieren asked, not really needing to see the answering nods.  _They shouldn't have sent you to reclaim him then.  Exactly how stupid is your leader anyway?_

"Very, apparently," Dais said slowly, grin twisting his lips upwards at the corners.

"Talpa isn't going to like this," Sehkmet sighed as he lowered himself to the floor again.  "Neither is Hardrock or Torrent."

_Talpa?_ Mieren's horrified thought drifted to them, catching their attentions._  Light incinerate my mind and soul, please tell me that you're joking._

Dais blinked in confusion.  "Didn't you know that's who ruled the Dynasty?"

_No!  They didn't tell me!  They've talked about fighting the Dynasty before but they never mentioned your leader's name!_

"Then how do you know of him?" Sehkmet murmured.

Without giving them an answer, she let out a shrill ululating cry that resounded through the house, bringing all of the Ronins running.

"What the hell is going on?" Rowen demanded, being the first to dash into the living room, the others following immediately behind him.

_Why in the hell didn't you tell me that Talpa ruled the Dynasty?_ Mieren all but shrieked at them.

"We thought you knew," Ryo said slowly.

"What's going on?" Sehkmet asked carefully, trying to ignore the furious glares thrown in his direction.

_Listen closely.  I think it's time to tell you a few things_, Mieren sighed, settling back onto the couch with a haunted expression on her face.  _First off, I believe that we have a new Warlord taking up residence here._

"He switched sides?" Sage asked incredulously, reaching out with one hand to restrain Kento from slamming the man's skull into the ground.  Dais nodded quickly.  There was no further conversation as Mieren began speaking softly.

_A bit of past for the new people.  Over three thousand years ago, there was a war in my home dimension between the sorcerers.  In the last battle, two final demons of incredible power were created, the warrior of the Clan of the Starlight and the warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows.  They nearly destroyed the dimension in their battle.  I am the warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows._

"What!" Sehkmet and Dais cried out at the same time.

_Shut up and listen.  There's more and it's worse.  Talpa is the warrior of the Clan of the Starlight.  I blasted him from my dimension into the Dynasty.  I understand now that it is he that created the armors.  I recognize the energy signatures as those from my dimension.  The armor is fascinating.  He used all of his energy to create it, so if it is used as a single unit, it will be his match.  With the added powers of the Ronins, we are the stronger of the two forces._

"You're over three thousand?" Sehkmet stammered.

_Get over it.  Here's one for you.  Did you know that those critters in the tunnels below the Dynasty are of his making?_

Dais nodded numbly, staring at her in a stunned silence.

_The control spells he used to keep them in subordination did not work, so he imprisoned them in the dungeons.  They broke loose and dug the tunnels.  Did you know he's been casting the same control spells on the lot of you?_

Sehkmet jumped, eyes wild.  "What?"

_I guess not.  How do you think he got you under control to fight against your home dimension?  He never figured out the control spells entirely.  The demons in the tunnels won't obey him because their magical energies cancel out the control spells.  Recently, Talpa made a mistake by awakening your magical energies, allowing you break free of his controlling spells.  Why do you think that all of a sudden, you are all starting to switch sides?_

"My God," Dais breathed, paling further by the second.

"What about Cale and Kayura?" Sehkmet asked, voice barely above a whisper.

_The spells holding them will unravel as they continue to use their new energies.  It shouldn't take them too long to break free.  You know, I have an even better one for you guys.  Would you like to hear it?_

"I'm not sure we want to know," Ryo wailed, sinking to the floor.

"I'm afraid to ask, but what?" Sage said in a slightly frantic voice.

_Well, I should make sure I'm right about this first.  Your last names are Mouri, Hashiba, Date, Sanada, and Fung.  Yes?_

"How in the hell did you know that?" Sage cried out.

"You can't even get out first names right!" Ryo seconded.

"And we've never even told you our last names!" Cye chimed in.

_I thought so.  Hey, Halo.  Remember when I told you that you looked familiar?_  Mieren paused as she waited for his answering nod. _ You also remember when I told you that the sorcerers of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows accused me of not killing all of the sorcerers of the Starlight Clan, right?_

Sage blanched.  "I don't want to hear this," he breathed, stepping back.

_Tough, you need to know.  Approximately a dozen of the sorcerers of the Starlight Clan survived my furious raid that one night.  I was never able to find all of them.  The five strongest of the sorcerers that escaped were Mouri, Hashiba, Date, Sanada, and Fung.  Well, that's what they eventually changed their names to anyway.  They were originally Masayuki, Nagateru, Hideaki, Hiroshi, and Ikuto. Mouri was the most skilled sorcerer I have ever encountered, the damn elf spending every waking hour practicing the arts.  Hashiba was the strongest sorcerer in the dimension, but he had no idea what the hell he was doing.  Date was the healer of the group and a brilliant tactician.  Fung was unmatched when it came to spells of strength.  Sanada was dangerous from his unrivaled temper alone, not to mention his unnerving fighting abilities both physically and magically.  I was never able to find out where they went, until now that is.  Some of the similarities and matches in appearance, skills, and temperament to your own are astonishing._

"My God," Rowen whispered, eyes threatening to roll out of their sockets.

"An elf?" Cye cried out, running over what Rowen had been about to say.

_Yes, an elf.  The only elfin sorcerer in existence at the time, to my knowledge.  You look much like him, although you are a bit taller.  You seem to have inherited the slender frame and delicate features.  Do you have any idea how long you'll live with just a little elfin blood running in your veins?  Probably a good two centuries._

Cye paled considerably, Kento gripping his shoulder reassuringly when the younger boy began to tremble slightly.  Only Mieren noticed when he began fingering one of his ears gingerly.__

_Hadn't you ever wondered why your armors chose you?  Didn't you wonder why you were able to use your armor after having learned that they were from my dimension?  How those idiots Torrent and Rowen knew spells in my native tongue, and appeared to understand them no less?  This is why they could control those energies in the first place.  Your sorcerer heritage is what allows you to use your armor.  This heritage is the reason that your armor protects you from harm, activating your innate abilities whenever the need arises._

"How long have you known all of this?" Kento asked softly.

_Quite a while.  I only figured out where Talpa fit in just now.  I never imagined that he would be using his original name after all of these years.  I knew he was in the Dynasty, but I had no idea that he ruled there._

"Tell me she's joking," Dais whimpered when he noticed that Sehkmet looked as though he were about to faint.

"I don't think so," Rowen said softly, wilting to the floor.

_Warlord of Venom, I have a favor to ask you._

Sehkmet swallowed nervously, eyes growing wider.  He nodded quickly.

_Take Dais back with you.  I want the two of you to bring your friends here._

"Why are you dragging me into this?" Dais wailed.

_A few minutes ago, you promised to do any favor I asked without question.  I ask you now to follow through with that promise.  We need as little opposition as is possible._

"One last question," Sehkmet mumbled.  "You compared me to a senile drake.  What is a that?"  Mieren snorted at the unexpected question.

_A drake?  A dragon-like critter and one of the worst magic handlers in any dimension I've ever seen.  When they start casting, it's best to run.  No telling what'll be blown up.  Not the nicest thing in the dimension to be compared to._

Sehkmet nodded and backed away slowly, eyes glazed.  Deep forest green flames surrounded him for a moment before he vanished.  Dais followed him hesitantly, disappearing in a swirl of violet fire.

Mieren sighed and curled into a fetal position, eyes welling with tears.  She snapped herself out of her desperation immediately, rising smoothly to her feet and rounding on the stunned Ronins watching her.

_We have little time, Ronins.  We must train._

Unsurprisingly, for the first time ever, no one objected to training with her.

*     *     *

Dais followed Sehkmet through the halls of the Dynasty, trying his best to maintain a chastised expression.  Shortly after arriving they had decided that it would be easiest to talk to Cale first, Sehkmet in his full armor and Dais in his subarmor.  They had both agreed that it would be suicidal for Dais to run around the Dynasty fully armed and that they didn't want anyone to see that Sehkmet had been healed just yet.  Sehkmet believed that if all three of them approached Kayura, it would be easier to get her to come with them.

"So the traitor has returned," Cale snarled, stepping out in front of them and fingering his no-dachi meaningfully.

Sehkmet looked back to Dais, who closed his one eye and nodded slightly.  They hadn't expected Cale to greet them with open arms and had come up with several courses of action to deal with any situation that might come up.

"I want to show you something," Sehkmet said, trying to keep his voice cold as he spun on his heels to find a place where they could speak somewhat privately.  Cale growled out something that might have been an acknowledgement before following them with the hilt of his no-dachi gripped tightly in one hand.

Stepping into his room, Sehkmet sighed and motioned for Cale and Dais to sit down.  Dais sank down onto the bed immediately, watching Cale warily out of the corner of his eye as the man made a face and opted to remain standing.  Deciding that it was best to begin bluntly, Sehkmet banished his armor and subarmor to stand wearing nothing but an old kimono.

"But I thought you were…" Cale trailed off.

"Fried?  Melted to my armor?" Sehkmet asked softly, sinking onto the bed beside Dais and scrubbing one have through his dark green hair.  When Cale nodded numbly, he continued.  "I was when I left to get Dais."

"Then what happened?" he hissed suspiciously.

"You know that girl that's been pulverizing us?"  Cale nodded slowly.  "She said that it was unnecessarily cruel to leave me fried like that.  She fixed my armor and myself all in one stroke."

"Why were you talking to her?" Cale snapped, stepping back and fingering his no-dachi.

"Dais was at the Ronins' household.  When trying to talk to him, I ran into the girl and the Ronins.  When they found out I only wanted to talk to him, they all left me alone.  The girl stayed in the room with us.  She healed me without asking when she saw how badly I was hurt from that spell that Torrent cast."

Cale blinked, trying to absorb everything that the other man was telling him, sinking into one of the chairs in the room slowly.  "Why are you telling me this?"

"You asked."

He made a face.  "You know what I mean."

Dais decided to join in at that moment.  "I didn't want to come back.  I liked it there," he said softly, waiting for it to sink in.

Cale jumped to his feet and leveled his no-dachi with the other two men in the room, realizing suddenly what they were asking.  He didn't get a chance to say anything as the others continued.

"You know the spells that Talpa tried to use to control the demons in the tunnels?" Sehkmet began, waiting for recognition to dawn in his friend's eyes.  "He's been casting the same spells on the four of us, to keep us under his control."

Cale shook his head forcefully.  "The spells don't work!"

"They don't work on beings with magical abilities," Dais said firmly, catching Cale's gaze resolutely in his own.  "The abilities that we've been given are dissolving the spells holding us."

Cale's shoulders thumped into the wall.  He blinked slowly.  He hadn't even been aware that he had been backing away from the others.

"What has Talpa ever done besides ordering us around and punishing us?" Sehkmet continued, watching the indecision appear slowly on his friend's face.

"And what have the Ronins and that wretched girl ever done?" he countered weakly, voice beginning to tremble as he realized the truth behind their words.

"The Ronins didn't fight me when they saw I just wanted to talk, and the girl granted me the privacy to do so.  She healed me without asking when she saw I was hurt, only because she thought it was cruel to let someone run around fried like that."

"They took me in.  The girl even protected me in the last battle until the others understood that I wasn't fighting back," Dais added, his one eye closing slowly.  "They reminded me what it was to have a sense of humor and friends to force it upon you."

"Tell me," Sehkmet continued before Cale could open his mouth to say anything.  "When was the last time you were truly happy?"

Cale sighed and sheathed his no-dachi, eyes troubled.  "You guys don't fight fair," he muttered, staring intently at the floor.  "Now what?"

"Now we find Kayura," Dais said as he rose slowly from the bed.  Sehkmet scrubbed his hands through his hair one last time before he called his armor, praying that they would have at least half as easy a time forcing reason upon Kayura.

*     *     *

Kayura sat in her room, carefully mixing vials of various liquids, grinning viciously at the thick goop in one of the vials as she thought of the extraordinary explosion that would result when the slender glass tube was broken.

"Kayura?  Can I come in?"

Kayura scowled darkly.  "I already told you Sehkmet, you'll live.  You're _not_ getting one of my healing potions."

"I don't want one.  We just want to talk to you for a minute."

Kayura blinked.  "We?"

"Myself and Cale."

Kayura growled deep in her throat, setting down the batch of the goop that she had just started to transfer carefully into the delicate glass vials.  Opening the door, she glared angrily at the two Warlords standing in the hall.  Cale immediately pushed past her into the room, Sehkmet following more slowly.

"I didn't say you could come in," she hissed, trying to push them out into the hall.

"You didn't say we couldn't," Dais murmured as he slipped past her while she was struggling with the others.

"I thought you switched sides," Kayura snarled.  Dais shrugged, seating himself comfortably on the bed.

"Yea, well…"

"Why the hell haven't you two killed him?" she yelled angrily, calling her Starlight Swords to her hands.

"Well, as to that," Sehkmet murmured, banishing his armor to display his newly healed skin, brandishing it before Kayura's stunned eyes.  "The girl is kind of nice if you aren't trying to kill her."

"You too?" she hissed, backing away from him.  "Cale?"

Cale shrugged slightly.  "The spell Talpa was using to control me finally shattered when they pointed it out."

Kayura blinked.  "Spell?"

"Long story," Dais murmured, grinning at her ruefully.  "He's had spells on us since the beginning, but they're breaking because of our new magical abilities."

"How can you be sure?" she growled, moving away from all of them to push herself into the corner of the room defensively.

Dais called forward a gentle flickering swirl of violet flames to one hand and reached out towards her slowly.  "I can show you if you'd like."

Kayura's expression turned murderous, but she didn't say anything.  Taking that as an acceptance, Dais moved forward and placed one hand on the side of her head, watching her swords warily.  Kayura whimpered in pain as he pulled his hand back slowly, something in her head tearing slightly.  She rolled her eyes slightly to view the opaque black threads that were stretched tightly in Dais's hand, eyes bulging as she realized what those strands had to be.

She opened her mouth to tell him to cut the threads, whimpering instead when a crippling pain shot through her skull followed by a blind fury.  Lashing out with one sword, she grinned viciously as she felt the blade slice cleanly through armor.  Dais cried out loudly, falling back and clutching his stomach.  Chaos ensued.

Dark blackish flames shot around Kayura as she jumped towards the other two Warlords, Cale barely getting his no-dachi up in time to block her.  Deep indigo flames rose around him as he continued to parry her furious slashes, Sehkmet joining in the fray quickly in a flash of deep forest green flames, swords flashing in untraceable maneuvers as he knocked aside her blows.  As one, green and blue flames lashed out, pinning Kayura to the wall for a moment before her answering slashed of black energy freed her.

Dais squinted at her from the floor, struggling to recall the spells that the demonic girl had been throwing around.  Violet flames surrounded him for a moment as he lashed out, slamming a shield around Kayura's mind.

"Pin her!  She can't fight back!" Dais cried out.

Cale and Sehkmet didn't question him, forming cords of energy around her desperately, slumping to the floor in relief when she stayed bound where they had placed her.  Sehkmet moved over to Dais quickly, grimacing at the deep slash in the other man's midsection.  He didn't waste any time in closing the trench.

"Sorry, but it's going to leave a scar," he mumbled.

"Like I don't have enough of those already," Dais grumbled good-naturedly.

"Do either of you know how to unravel spells?" Cale called out as he prodded at Kayura with indigo flames, gagging her when she began to scream obscenities at him.

"I think so," Dais murmured, struggling to his feet weakly and swaying slightly.  Sehkmet immediately steadied him and helped him over to Kayura.  Violet flames surged around him for a moment as he snagged the black cords with his mind, grinning when he was able to snap them with surprising ease.  Kayura ceased bucking and looked up at him in consternation for a moment before relaxing patiently.

Cale and Sehkmet released the cords holding her, moving back warily lest she try to jump them again.  Dais didn't bother to move, grinning at her from his newly acquired seat on her bed.

"So now what?" Kayura asked slowly.

To Be Continued…

Sorry.  Evilness of midterms attacked me and caused the delay.  I'm back now, for a bit.  R&R.


	9. Part 9

Midnight Shadows

Part 9

By Mieren

_For beginners, I want to make a few adjustments to the group._

The Ronins blinked uncertainly, eyeing her askance.  Sage was the first to speak up.  "What adjustments?"

_Rowen, come here._

Rowen blinked uncertainly, but complied immediately, kneeling down beside where Mieren was seated comfortably on the floor of the living room.  Without hesitating, she grasped his head in both of her hands and slashed at him with a cord of snowy fires.  Rowen gasped as his head spun slightly, blinking against the sharp light when he finally opened his eyes.

"What did you do?" he mumbled, squinting slightly.

_Fixed your eyes.  You were the only one in the group that couldn't see in the dark and were therefore at a distinct disadvantage._

Rowen paled slightly, looking around the room slowly, swallowing nervously at the sharp intake of breath he heard from Kento.  Concentrating on his original eye color, he felt something shift in his mind, clearing the burning sensation from his eyes.  He pursed his lips thoughtfully.

"That wasn't too hard to figure out," he murmured.

_You are growing attuned to magic, and so can figure out the workings of spells rapidly.  I must say I am impressed at how quickly you solved that little dilemma._

Kento took a deep calming breath.  If Rowen wasn't upset with what she had done, then he shouldn't be either.  Something suddenly stuck his as odd.

"I can see in the dark?" he asked slowly, uncertainly.

_Of course you can.  Simply shift your eyes to golden and you will be able to see in a total absence of light like the rest of us can.  Surely you knew that, Hardrock._

"What's the other adjustment?  You used a plural, so there has to be another."

_Very observant of you, Wildfire.  The second thing that must be changed is that you must step down as leader._

"What?!" Ryo cried out loudly.

_Remember when I said that Date was a brilliant tactician?  All of you seem to be so much like your predecessors that I believe that Halo will have similar planning capabilities that the original Date did._

Sage blinked.  "I don't want to lead," he said firmly, glancing at Ryo.

Mieren scrubbed her hands through her hair.  _Torrent has Mouri's magical skills, though he hasn't awakened all of them yet.  Rowen has Hashiba's strength and his lack of knowledge of what to do with it.  Wildfire has the incredible fighting abilities and the temper to match the original Sanada.  Unable to weave the spells himself, Hardrock has unheard of inborn strength that rivals any of the spells that Fung used, if he ever decides to tap into those reserves, that is.  Now, Halo, with the similarities I see here and your remarkable healing talent, I can only assume that you would be adept at planning battles as well._

Sage shook his head forcefully and took on an extremely stubborn expression.  Ryo's murderous look wasn't reassuring either.  Mieren sighed loudly and turned to Ryo.

_Then will you at least agree to listen to Halo and do what he says if he makes some sort of suggestion on the battlefield?_

Ryo nodded slowly, glancing at Sage, who looked as though he wanted to scream or rip his hair out, possibly both.

"Anything else?" Ryo growled.

_No, but we must train._

*     *     *

Sage leveled his no-dachi as Mieren drew her scimitars, swearing softly to himself.  She wasn't using practice weapons.  None of them were.  Mieren had made it clear that she wanted them to practice exactly as they would fight on the battlefield and didn't want them getting used to weapons that were even minimally different from those that they would be using.

A flash of energy distracted him momentarily.  Cye and Rowen were pounding on each other viciously with both their armors and magical abilities, huge craters appearing in the streets around them.  Sage sighed again.  Mieren had insisted on training in the city, pointing out that if they fought near Mia's house, there wouldn't be a house left.

Ryo and Kento darted past him, katanas clanging loudly against a tetsubo.  Ryo had already shifted into a wolf and occasionally took to the air, slashing at Kento mercilessly and receiving equally ruthless blows himself.  Occasionally in the battles with one another, one of the guys would get seriously hurt and practice had to be stalled so that either Sage or Mieren could heal them.

Sage snapped his attention back to Mieren instantly, wondering if he should shapeshift now to save himself the agony of a few slashes and bruises.  No one had managed to hit Mieren yet, despite their superior strengths and magical abilities.  He made a face, wondering in dread what Talpa would be like to fight if he began with tactics like this.  And he was stronger than Mieren too, probably faster.  Sage swallowed nervously as he looked at his opponent, barely managing to turn aside her first slash with her shimmering scimitars.

Without bothering to slowly work up speed, Mieren launched herself at him, slashing out a complicated pattern with her scimitars.  Sage leapt into the air, shapeshifting as he came down to achieve the speed he so desperately needed in fighting Mieren if he hoped to avoid serious injury.  Landing lightly, he raised his no-dachi defensively as his armor finished remolding itself to him.  Not waiting for her to attack again, he charged her, the clattering of his hooves and armor echoing through the buildings.  Stretching himself as he ran, the world darkened slightly, bringing a knowing grin to his face.  Before he had taken his second stride, his eyes flashed golden.

Sage lashed out, his no-dachi cleanly severing Mieren's simple steel scimitars at the hilts.  Without missing a beat, she rolled backwards, a new weapon forming out of opal flames to create a weapon he had never seen before.  The thing in her hands resembled a quarterstaff with a wicked eighteen-inch blade on each end, one curved slightly and the other perfectly straight.  An occasional barb or spike appeared down the length.  To stop descending weapons, he thought.

Seeing his hesitation, Mieren charged him, slashing at his legs with the curved blade while bringing the straight one around in the follow through in a disemboweling motion.  Sage leapt over the first slash and blocked the second with his no-dachi, kicking her viciously in the ribs with one of his hooves as he did so, having learned in the first match with her that he was never to hesitate in striking her when he had the opportunity.  She had made that first lesson quite painful earlier today, breaking seven of his ribs and shattering his jaw in her return blow when he had only tapped her lightly as a warning.  The only time any of them were to refrain from striking was is his opponent cried out in unconditional surrender.

Mieren went into a roll backwards, milky flames shooting up around her as she flipped gracefully out of his reach.  Sage prepared to strike her again, slamming his front hooves into the ground in a crushing movement that she barely evaded, Mieren rolling in two different directions.  Sage blinked, thinking that his eyes were playing tricks on him.  He gaped when he saw that there were indeed two Mierens, the girl having split herself into two separate warriors.  One Mieren held two scimitars while the other brandished the barbed staff tipped with blades.

The two Mierens circled him, getting on opposite sides and tensing carefully.  Swearing loudly, Sage spun to slash at the one holding scimitars with his no-dachi while lashing out with his back hooves at the one sporting a staff.  Hitting neither, he struggled to gain more energy, emerald flames shooting around him in the shadows.  Leaping forward, he struck the girl holding scimitars firmly with his no-dachi, hitting the other in his spinning follow through.

Both girls rolled away from him, one becoming engulfed in snowy flames for a second time.  Suddenly, three Mierens stood regarding him, wicked grins painting every face with equally feral expressions.  Unaware that an audience was building to watch him, Sage darted forward, spinning his no-dachi skillfully as he neared the newest Mieren facing him, brandishing her own no-dachi in a double-handed grip.

A furious interchange ensued, sparks flying through the air as no-dachi encased in green flames slammed with horrifying force into a no-dachi trailing white fire.  Blades spinning through hands at an impossible speed, Sage half turned to face his second opponent as a blade-tipped staff lashed out at him at the same time as did a no-dachi.  Parrying both blows, Sage went into a flurry of movement as he began countering attacks coming from both sides skillfully.

A blaze of white flames flickered a few paces from him as the Mieren holding twin scimitars split again, another two opponents moving towards an appalled Sage.  The newer of the two brandished a wicked axe with a vicious half-moon blade and a thick spike on the other side for balance.  Struggling to hold his own as things stood, he summoned more energy to him, feeling the sweet fires coursing through his veins in an ecstasy that neared the point of pain, his body shifting slightly to compensate.  Probing his new power with his mind, Sage went into a series of wild spins and twists as he began fighting against the four warriors facing him.  After holding his own for a few moments, he went on the offensive, cleanly shearing the girl's staff into two pieces before delivering a spinning kick, a difficult maneuver in his current form, that sent her careening into a wall.  She did not get up.

Spinning wildly on his back hooves, Sage lashed out at the girl wielding a flame-covered no-dachi with horrifying skill.  Slicing through the girl's no-dachi, Sage lashed out with one hoof with all of his strength, smiling slightly as she rolled away from him and lay still on the ground ten paces away.

Building the fires on his no-dachi through his mind, Sage unleashed an emerald fireball on the nearest girl as she swung her axe at him, the green flames dropping her to the pavement as he spun on his last target.  Sage jumped forward in an impaling maneuver in an attempt to get the final Mieren off balance, freezing in shock when his blade easily slipped through her scimitars when she couldn't bring them in front to block quickly enough.  Time seemed to slow horribly as Sage tried to pull back his blow.  Unable to stop his thrust, Mieren was impaled on the thick blade.

Dropping his hold on his no-dachi, Sage staggered back a few steps, the gold flames in his eyes dying out to leave the clear crystal blue.  Mieren hadn't moved from the defensive gesture she hadn't been able to throw up in time.  Blinking numbly, she looked down at the blade planted in her chest.  One by one, the other three girls rose and migrated over to her, one taking each of her arms while the third pulled the no-dachi free.  Sage gaped as all four were surrounded by snowy flames that caused eerie shadows to flicker on the edges of the street, the injuries on the four girls healing slowly an instant before they vanished in a flash of light that left a single girl facing him.

"How in the hell did you do that, Sage?" Ryo breathed, training forgotten for the moment as he stared at his friend in shock.  Mieren had tried the same stunt with him earlier in the day, but had driven him into the pavement when there were only two of them.  Sage grinned ruefully as he popped off his helmet, taking a moment to get rid of all of the wolf-like features that had appeared in his second shapeshifting frenzy.  After a moment, he shrugged and shifted completely back to a human form.

"I have no idea," he admitted, scrubbing one hand through sweat damp hair.

"That was incredible," the new voice nearly caused several of the gathered Ronins to have a shock-induced heart attack on the spot.

Sage stiffened as he recognized Cale's voice.  He looked up in horror, blinking and grinning widely when he saw Dais and Sehkmet sitting on one of the nearby roofs beside Cale and Kayura, all of them watching raptly.

Mieren slapped him in the back of the head while he was distracted, glaring at him angrily.

"I'm sorry!" he wailed, moving away from her a few steps.

_Idiot!  You're still holding back!  You can do better than that and you know it._

Sage blanched and moved away.  He had barely won and she was telling him to stop messing around.  He began to seriously wonder if she had taken a serious blow to the head in the fight somewhere when he hadn't seen.

Mieren sighed and looked up.  Grinning, she charged the side of the building and began climbing swiftly, fingers creating their own holds as she sprinted up the stone siding.  Reaching the top, she plopped down in the middle of the four Warlords and grinned widely.

_Would you like to train as well?_ Mieren asked sweetly, grin splitting her face.

"Not against you," Dais muttered, Sehkmet nodding agreement.  Cale and Kayura paled at the very notion.  Mieren grinned in amusement.

_Then how would you like to train with Torrent and Rowen?  They're more on your level anyway.  They're currently practicing a combination of physical fighting and magical attacks._

"That sounds a bit better," Cale murmured, still eyeing her nervously.  Grinning at his uncertain expression, Mieren plucked him off of the roof and looked at him merrily as she hefted him over her head.

_Hey Rowen!  Catch! _Mieren called out happily as she tossed the mortified Warlord off of the side of the ten-story building, hooting loudly when he let out a terrified shriek on his way down.  _You scream like a girl!_ she taunted as Rowen snagged him deftly out of the air with sapphire cords of raw energy.

Dais made the mistake of snickering.  He was immediately picked up kicking and screaming as Mieren threw him over the edge of the roof after his friend.  _Torrent!  Heads up!_

Sehkmet struggled to keep a straight face, failing miserably.  Not waiting for her to snag him, he launched himself off of the building, laughing hysterically.  Kayura paled and moved slightly away from Mieren, thinking seriously about hauling out her Starlight Swords.  She was never given the chance as she was picked up gently but swiftly and set across the girl's shoulders.  An ear-piercing shriek rang through the air as Mieren jumped off of the roof with the mortified woman across her shoulders.  Landing lightly, she deposited the trembling woman on the ground, grinning at her pale face before clapping her companionably on the shoulder and walking back over towards Sage.

"You call this being nice?" Kayura raged at Sehkmet, who was trying his best not to laugh himself sick.

"That _was_ nice.  You aren't hurt, are you?" Sehkmet snickered, earning himself another glare.

"Hell, she's even been nice when fighting us, I'd be willing to bet," Dais murmured, earning himself three incredulous looks.  "You remember what I told you on the way here, right?  With as old and as strong as she is, she could have done much worse things to us in battle than she did and you know it."

Cale and Kayura both paled, looking fearfully at the slender black-clad girl as she began another series of attacks that Sage repelled with surprising ease, his eyes burning golden in the shadows.

Dais grinned at their expressions and tried to put them at ease.  "Her practical jokes are kind of fun though.  You should see what she did to Cye and Rowen."

"You say anything and I'll kill the whole lot of you," Cye snarled.

Dais made an innocent face and threw his hands into the air.  A smile twisting the corners of his mouth, he turned to the other three former Warlords.  "She turned Cye into an infant and passed him off as Rowen's kid!" he whispered loud enough to be heard clearly three streets away.  Cye turned purple.

"You're dead!"

"Why would that work?" Cale called out, utterly baffled.

"Rowen and the girl are lovers!" Dais yelped out as a flash of energy narrowly missed frying him.

"What did he do?" Sehkmet choked out around his laughter.

Dais laughed wildly and darted just out of the boy's reach, choking on the next words out of his mouth.  "Rowen fainted when he first heard about it!" he cried out joyously, Rowen flushing a deep red before joining Cye in chasing down the older man.  Oblivious to the danger he was in, he continued.  "The girl even tried to breast-feed the baby Cye!  Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!  That wasn't nice, Cye!" he wailed as he tried to avoid the next flash of energy.

"Tell me you're kidding," Sehkmet gasped out, tears streaming from his eyes.

"I'm not!  As revenge, those two talked Mieren into punishing the others and turning them into babies in their demonic forms.  When they turned back, a pretty woman was holding a naked Ryo!"  Dais shrieked as Ryo stopped chasing Kento around the streets and tried to tackle him.

"That would explain why Sage was sitting on top of you in the nude when I got there," Sehkmet crowed before Dais turned his retreat from the others into a charge, oblivious to the fact that Sage had joined him in hunting the offending former Warlord.

_You should have seen Dais shriek like a girl to avoid his punishment!_ Mieren chimed in, earning herself a mortified glare from Dais and a round of howling laughter from his friends.

Kento, Kayura, and Cale were currently the only ones not pounding on someone or being pounded on.  Kento walked over to join the other two slowly, rolling his eyes as he drew nearer.

"How often does this happen?" Cale said somewhat incredulously.

"Every few minutes," he mumbled, rolling his eyes again when a tangled group containing Dais, Cye, Rowen, and Ryo rolled by them.  Sage was currently smearing Sehkmet across the pavement, who was too busy laughing to even breathe right, let alone avoid the blows landing on him.

"Umm, where is the girl?" Kayura asked slowly, looking around fearfully.

"Mieren?" Kento said slowly, eyes narrowing when he didn't see her right off.  Shifting his eyes to golden, he began looking around for heat signatures that would give away the girl's hiding place, trying to avoid squinting in the burning light.  He growled softly when he wasn't able to locate her.

"Uh, what the hell happened to your eyes?" Cale inquired carefully, flinching at Kento's answering grin, which was far too feral for his liking.

"This," he murmured, shifting his form suddenly while trying not to grin when his armor swirled around him in a molten whirlwind.  He looked up at Kayura's squeak and Cale's gasp, grinning widely and knowing that his armor had reformed to him and was now covered in ridges and wicked spikes.  Standing slowly, he popped off his helmet, careful of the spikes and horns as he tucked it under his arm.  Cale just stood there, jaw working silently as he stared in shock.  Kayura fainted.

Kento was abruptly tackled from behind, both he and his attacker spilling onto the concrete.  They both immediately rolled to their feet.

_Never look for an opponent unless you are ready for them_, Mieren chided.

Kento made a face and called his tetsubo to his hands, grateful that his fingers had regenerated with his eye when he had merged with Turriv, the returned digits making it far easier to use his weapon.  Spinning nimbly, he charged her, once again thankful that his healed eye gave him the depth perception he so desperately needed when fighting someone as skilled as Mieren.

Mieren backed away from him and held up one hand, motioning for him to wait.  _Listen up, guys._  She paused, blinking.  _Hey!  Would you stop trying to kill each other already?  You need to train!_

Dais and Sehkmet were the first to scramble to their feet and join the imperious girl, grinning foolishly at one another.  The four Ronins fell in behind them slowly.  Kento made a face, wondering briefly what she was up to.

_In this little exercise, I want all nine of you to work together.  Your task is to thrash me until I surrender or stop moving.  Hell, I'll be impressed if you even manage to hit me_, she said, grinning at the nine incredulous faces regarding her.

"I can beat you without any help," Sage said slowly, eyes narrowing.  "What makes you think that you can fight all nine of us?"

_Ooh.  Big man.  You just try it._

Sage shrugged and charged her, shifting into a centaur before having finished his first stride.  He was aware of the Warlords gasping.  Swinging his no-dachi with all of his strength, he gasped when she casually threw up a bare arm to block it, eyes blanking to snowy orbs.  His sword stopped in its arc when it bounced off of her arm, not leaving so much as a scratch.  Blanching, he stepped back.

"How did you do that?!" he wailed, eyeing her nervously.

_I'm old and ornery.  I can do whatever I want._

"That's not an answer," he complained darkly, making a face at her.

_Tough.  Resume training._

"Didn't you say that you were weaker than us?" Ryo asked cautiously.  Mieren blinked slowly, the color returning to her eyes.

_I am.  Or I thought I was, anyway.  I can solve this little dilemma quick enough, but I need Rowen, Torrent and Halo to help me._

Without question, the three listed Ronins fell in behind her, placing their hands on her shoulders and sending their energy to her.  Mieren sighed and closed her eyes, opal flames shooting into the sky.  Pulling away from the boys, she lowered herself to the ground, tracing an intricate pattern on the ground with one of her fingers.  White flames followed the trail she drew out with tedious motions, shooting into the sky as she threw her hands into the air and began chanting.

"What is she doing?" Cale asked in shock as the flames from the pattern on the ground shot several stories into the air.

"I have no idea," Rowen murmured.

"You aren't very good with magic, anyway," Cye hissed, eyes glazing as he tried to follow the patterns in the flames with his mind.  "She's summoning something here," he murmured absently, swaying slightly on his feet.  Kento reached out to steady him.

The blinding flames cleared suddenly, revealing a lithe figure kneeling within the intricate glowing pattern remaining on the ground, head hanging limply.  Long pointed ears rose out of long, bushy, reddish auburn hair that fell nearly to his waist.  He appeared to be small enough that he would be no more than five feet tall at most if he stood to his full height.  The guys stared blankly as Mieren began speaking to the slender man in her own tongue, the strangely rolling language echoing softly in the still air.

_"Do you know why I've called you here?"_

_"Damn you, warrior of the Midnight Shadows.  Why can't you leave us in peace?  Must you hunt us even in our graves?"_

_"You misunderstand.  I wish only to speak to you."_

_"I want nothing to do with you, Destroyer."_

_"Listen, you old coot.  The Starlight warrior is wreaking havoc in our dimension and this one, and I must know how to stop him before he destroys both."_

The tiny man looked up, all of the Ronins staring numbly as the reddish auburn hair fell away from the delicate face and pointed ears.  Cye dropped heavily to the ground as he looked at almost a mirror image of himself, eyes widening.

_"Well, Destroyer, why don't you just smash him into oblivion?  You seem to be rather good at it."_

Mieren sighed, reaching out with one hand to pull Cye over to her side.  _"Do you recognize this face, Mouri?"_  The elf gasped, looking as though he would give anything to break free of the archaic scrawling on the ground to thrash the girl regarding him.

_"You sink to threatening my descendant?" _he hissed, eyes blazing.

_"I threaten no one, elf.  He is fighting by my side in this battle, as are the descendants of Sanada, Hashiba, Fung, and Date.  Ironic, is it not?  The descendants of the Starlight Clan fighting with the warrior of the Midnight Shadows against the warrior that was to be the Starlight Clan's savior."_

Cye blinked at the conversation raging in front of him, almost thinking that he should be able to understand everything they said rather than just the majority of it, only missing few words here and there.  He cleared his throat softly, looking up.

_"Would you help us?"_ he murmured, nearly giving Mieren a seizure when he spoke in her native tongue.  He was aware of several sets of incredulous eyes on his back, but ignored them completely.

The stunned elf blinked turquoise eyes at him numbly before nodding slowly.  _"Interesting.  You didn't teach him our language did you?"  _He paused just long enough for Mieren to shake her head.  _"Our blood runs strongly through our descendants, it would appear.  Very well.  What do you want, Mieren?"_

_"I want to know why my powers appear to be taking a nap.  I'm weaker than most of the lesser demons, and I'm not sure why."_

_"Seize your energy and I will tell you if I know."_

Snowy flames rose around Mieren slowly, seeming almost reluctant to answer her demands for energy.  Mouri's turquoise eyes shot open, his jaw hanging limply.

_"How in the hell did you do that, girl?  Why are you able to use the lighter magics?  You were created from the darkest energies available to your clan so that you would be evil incarnate, a creature willing to destroy without question."_

_"I suppose that three thousand years can change a person.  The flames have been holding silver for the last millennium of my life.  They only turned white in the last month."_

_"Show me the last time you used your silver energies."_

Mieren sighed and leaned forward to grasp the elf's head gently in the tips of her fingers, white flames licking the palm of her hand.  Cye wasn't even touching her, but some of the images drifted to his mind.  Mieren in the tunnels, fighting some abomination before returning to where they were camping.  Mieren checking them in their sleep that first night out of the Dynasty, tears running down her cheeks.

More of the images began flowing into his mind, painfully sharp.  Kento attacking Mieren while she made no move to fight back.  Mieren engulfed in silver flames as she finished the words to a spell, golden lightning flashing in the distance.  Mieren reaching up to grasp the shaft of Kento's tetsubo, telling him that she would not fight him an instant before impaling herself.  Mieren throwing Kento's weapon back to him from where she lay dying on the ground, waiting for Kento to finish fighting before telling all of them that they must stay together if they were to win.

Cye gasped, cradling his head in his hands, eyes closing quickly to banish the vicious burning of the light as his eyes shifted to crimson involuntarily.  The pain stopped abruptly as a gentle hand rested on the back of his head, soothing opal energies flowing into him.  He looked up blankly, squinting for a moment before remembering to shift his eyes back to their natural sea blue.  Both Mieren and Mouri were conversing again, paying no attention to him.

_"You have been developing your soul over time, it would appear.  Refusing to fight one of your friends was apparently the last straw in deciding whether you were good or evil.  The darker energies are now closed to you, it would appear."_

_"I thought that the lighter energies were just a strong as the darker."_

_"They are, if you know what you're doing, which you apparently do not."_

_"What am I doing wrong, Elder?"_

_"The darker energies are drawn by grabbing them and wrestling with them into whatever you want them to do.  Trying the same methods with the lighter energies, like you appear to be doing, does not work.  To be honest, I am amazed that you're able to draw any light energy at all trying it that way."_

_"Then what am I supposed to do?"_

_"As a demon, you have a direct link to magical energies from within you.  As a sorcerer, I draw my powers from external sources only.  You draw the same energies ultimately, but you draw them in differently.  Demons do not draw the lighter energies, it is that simple.  I am not entirely sure what you are supposed to do."_

_"You must be out of touch with our dimension, then.  Many demons draw on the lighter energies, most of them in fact.  For the most part, only the demons in the Dynasty draw on the dark powers you speak of."_

_"Then things truly have changed, I see.  Why not ask one of the boys?"_

_"When it comes to magic, only Rowen and Torrent can manipulate the energies.  The rest are utterly hopeless."_

_"I see.  Well, I suppose that the logical way for you to draw energies through your mind is in the same fashion that I draw them externally.  Do not grasp for the energies.  Instead, open your mind and allow them to flow to you."_

Mieren made a face.  _"That's it?"_

_"That's the best I can answer.  Anything else?"_

_"Yes.  The Starlight warrior created one suit of armor long ago.  It was split into those you see here.  How do I use them against him?"_

_"Well, first off, you have to have all nine.  You are missing one."_

_"WHAT?"_

_"Ask the boys, I'm sure they know who has the last."_

_"Anubis does," _Cye murmured helpfully, nearly causing Mieren to jump out of her skin.  She had apparently forgotten that he was there.

_"Anubis, huh?  What do I do with them then?"_

_"I'm not familiar with what he did exactly, so I could only guess from here on.  I only know that you must find a way to unite the armors to increase their strength to its full potential.  If the armor was split, it must once again be made whole to stand a chance against the one who made it.  Is there anything else you wish to know?"_

_"Nothing that I can think of, Elder.  Would you like to speak with your many times removed grandson for awhile before you leave?"_

Mouri smiled gently at the boy staring at him in fascination.  _"I would love to, but I cannot stay long out of the spirit plane.  I have exceeded the time that is safe for me to remain here.  Perhaps some other time?"_ he asked slowly, eyes hopeful.

_"Yes, of course.  I think I'll summon the others too.  I imagine that they'll want to see their descendants as well when this is over with," _Mieren murmured sadly.

Cye reached out gingerly when his ancestor extended his hand to him.  The elfin Mouri smiled reassuringly as he took Cye's hand, the turquoise flames rising from each meeting in gentle swirls where their fingers touched.

_"A parting gift, child," _Mouri murmured as the turquoise flames shot up wildly around both of them, Cye's eyes growing wide.  He smiled sadly as he vanished.

Cye fell back, panting heavily.  The spells shooting through his head were inconceivable, ranging from the simplest tricks to the most complicated incantations whose effects were beyond his imagination.  Gentle hands pulled him to his feet, steadying him when he swayed slightly.  Drawing a deep breath, he struggled to force his mind to focus on the words coming from his friends that didn't seem to make any sense at the moment.  Snapping his mind back to an understanding of the language that was being thrown at him, he blinked and looked to his friends, grinning weakly.

"I'm okay," he murmured, swaying slightly.

"Good God, Cye.  What did he do to you?" Ryo asked softly.

"He showed me every spell he knew, I think.  Some of these things are pretty damn neat, you have no idea.  Hell, as soon as I untangle this mess enough to figure out how he did it, I'll see if I can do the same for Rowen."

Rowen blinked.  "Thanks," he mumbled, "but I don't think that that's what Ryo meant."

Cye stared at him blankly, obviously not understanding.

Mieren looked at him carefully, eyes narrowing thoughtfully.  _I don't think he meant to do that._

"Do what?"

Cye watched blankly as his friends and the former Warlords turned to each other slowly, arguing softly.  He didn't think that he was supposed to be able to hear them.

"He doesn't know," Sage whispered.

"I sure as hell ain't telling him," Kento growled.

"He doesn't like us that much as it is," Kayura mumbled, "and I think that someone he likes should tell him."

"I agree with Kayura," Dais muttered.  Sehkmet and Cale nodded in agreement.

"How are we going to break this to him?" Ryo breathed.  "You saw how he reacted when he found out that one of his ancestors from over three thousand years ago was an elf."

"I know," Rowen murmured.  "He's not going to take this well."

Cye blinked, face paling.  He most certainly wasn't supposed to be hearing their conversation.  Piecing together Ryo and Rowen's last words, he raised one hand slowly to the side of his head.  His mouth went bone dry when his searching fingers encountered long pointed ears sticking up from under his shaggy hair.  Blinking at the others where they were still arguing, he noticed for the first time since standing that he had shrunk a couple of inches so that they all towered over him.  Banishing his subarmor in a flash of turquoise light, he began studying himself carefully, blinking at his wiry form.

Cye was suddenly aware that the others had stopped arguing to watch him worriedly.  He swallowed thickly and began digging through the heavy arsenal of spells that his ancestor had left with him.  He felt the blood draining from his face when he realized the situation.

"I can't change back, can I?" he whispered, jaw quivering slightly.

_I'd help you out, but I truly have no idea how he did that.  He didn't just tinker with your physical form like I do when I'm teasing you guys.  What I pull are only minor spells that will wear off after a week if nothing is done to maintain them.  The most powerful permanent shifting I can manage at the moment is changing someone's eyes, or something just as minor.  I'm sorry, Torrent.  I can't do anything._

Clenching his teeth and tightening his hands into fists, Cye looked up to the others, eyes narrowing slightly.

"We need to find Anubis," he said as calmly as he could manage.  "Mieren was told that we needed the ninth armor to fight and we don't have it."

"We haven't seen him," Kayura admitted softly under his surprisingly hard gaze.

Cye snorted, closing his eyes.  "We'll just see where that idiot has been hiding all of this time."  Turquoise flames danced about him obediently, causing his clothes to whip around him wildly as he began chanting in another language.

"He's taking this better than I thought he would," Ryo murmured. 

"No kidding," Sage muttered dryly.

A flash of light was all the warning they had.  The four former Warlords and four watching Ronins jumped in surprise.  Mieren merely made a face and glared at Cye.

_There are easier and nicer ways of calling someone here, you know,_ Mieren muttered as she glanced at the baffled man in white robes standing in the middle of the street in utter confusion.  Mieren's eyes lit up.  _You didn't tell me he was a guardian from the Clan of the Ancients.  Not born a guardian like the girl, but acting as one at least._

"What was that?" Kayura squeaked.

_You didn't know?  You're a guardian from my dimension.  The guardians protect the planet and dimension.  When some of the Starlight sorcerers escaped to this dimension, the Clan of the Ancients followed to keep an eye on them.  You are from that clan.  The energy signature about you is unmistakable.  Why do you think that I never killed you in battle?  I had the opportunity many times, but I didn't want you dead knowing who and what you are._

"What the hell…" Anubis trailed off, glancing around wildly.  Seeing the Warlords, he tensed, raising his staff into a defensive position.

"Calm down, you idiot," Dais smirked.  "We're on your side."

Anubis blinked and looked directly at Mieren.  "What about the demon?"

_It would appear that they trained you a bit.  I like to hide my energy signature so that I cannot be spotted easily.  I am impressed.  Don't worry, I'm on your side too._

Anubis made a face and turned to walk over to the Ronins, choking on his greeting when he got a good look at Cye.

"What in the hell happened to you?" he squawked.

"Nice to see you too," Cye muttered, folding his slender arms across his chest.

"Sorry.  Your appearance is just kind of a surprise," he mumbled contritely.

_Hey, Ronins!  Why don't you give him a _real_ surprise?_ Mieren called happily.

Ryo grinned evilly.  "This'll teach you to avoid us for months on end.  Hey guys, ditch the armor first!"

Anubis blinked numbly when each of the Ronins and Warlords banished their armor, wondering briefly what they were planning.  He choked on a curse when all four of the former Warlords as well as Cye and Rowen were suddenly engulfed in flames, raw energy shooting around the city wildly as they drew as much power as they could handle safely.  Cye and Rowen allowed their eyes to swirl into a burning crimson to intensify the effect.  Anubis paled, looking to the three Ronins that hadn't done anything yet.

Ryo started the group going with a wild grin, shifting abruptly into a black wolf and unfurling his wings, chuckling softly at Anubis's dumbfounded expression.  Kento was the next to follow suit, posing good-naturedly in his cougar form while Anubis halfway managed to spit out a curse.  Sage was the last of the Ronins to show off, shifting into a centaur and trotting around for a moment before going through with the other half of his transformation, calling upon all of his wolf-like features, golden eyes blazing.  Mieren followed his performance, turning into a small black dragon slowly enough for Anubis to see her transformation clearly, snowy flames enveloping her wiry form.

Anubis looked at the ten warriors numbly for a moment before fainting.

*     *     *

Anubis blinked at the ground shifting below him, eyes narrowing in confusion for a moment before he realized that he was being carried.  He cleared his throat loudly, grumbling slightly when he didn't get a response.

"I'm awake.  You can put me down now."

_Ah, so the pansy rises._

Anubis blinked when he realized that it was the demon who was carrying him, squirming uncomfortably when she glanced over at him before dropping him roughly to the ground.

"Welcome back to the world of the living," Dais snickered.

"I can't see you doing any better in similar circumstances," he muttered.

"Don't worry, he didn't," Cale supplied happily.  "He nearly had a seizure the first time that Ryo pulled his little trick."

Grinning slightly, Anubis began again.  "Would you mind telling me what's going on, or must I keep guessing?"

_How much do you know of my home dimension?_ Mieren asked curiously.

Blinking at the sudden question, he began slowly.  "I haven't been there more than a few times.  Last I saw, they were organizing a party of demons and sorcerers to go hunting for something that they called the Destroyers," he trailed off when Mieren winced and glared at the ground murderously.  He continued uncertainly.  "I can't remember their names, but apparently they nearly destroyed the dimension about three thousand years ago."

_They are demons that nearly destroyed the dimension in a war between the sorcerers over three thousand years ago, to be exact.  Their names are Mieren, warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows, and Talpa, warrior of the Starlight Clan._

"Talpa's one of them?!" Anubis choked out, eyes bulging.

_Yea, and I'm the other._

Anubis looked as though he were about to faint again when Mieren looked over at him sadly, eyes regarding him in a mixture of pain and curiosity.

"It's not too often that we meet someone that makes us look young, now is it?" Dais said merrily, clapping the pale man on the shoulder.

_If you faint, I'm afraid I can't explain to you what's going on._

Anubis steadied himself forcefully, swallowing thickly as he turned to regard the three thousand-year-old demon regarding him thoughtfully.  "I'm fine," he mumbled.

Mieren grinned at him as she, Dais, and Anubis began to follow the others, who had not stopped to wait for them.  Beginning with the war of the sorcerers, she explained everything to the men walking beside her as they headed back to Mia's house, pausing occasionally when the newest member of the group asked a question or tried to faint.

*     *     *

As the group neared Mia's house, Mieren had nearly finished with her very _long_ explanation.

_The original Mouri was unlocking all of Torrent's innate abilities and skills, and filling his mind with knowledge of the many spells that he had learned over the centuries.  To strengthen Torrent's mind and abilities, I believe that he tried to awaken the boy's elfin ancestry and accidentally surfaced it a bit more than he intended.  He seemed slightly shocked to me right before he vanished.  Torrent, knowing that we needed your help, summoned you here with one of the new spells he had learned, _Mieren finished as she walked towards the front door that the Ronins had just flung open.

Clapping Anubis on the shoulder, she left him standing numbly in the yard, more than halfway hanging on Dais, as she trotted inside to speak to Mia.  Heading straight to the kitchen, she grinned at the mountains of food piling the counters and stove.

_I see that you heard my message to prepare enough food for an army of Kentos, _Mieren grinned.

Cye wandered into the kitchen, eyebrows shooting towards his hairline.  "And here I thought that you might need some help preparing dinner for everyone on such short notice," he murmured.

Without looking at the startled boy, Mia chuckled.  "Nah.  Mieren told be to get ready to feed an army.  Said something about bringing back ten men with healthy appetites, so I got busy a few hours ago."

As Mia started to turn around, a message slammed into her mind suddenly, obviously aimed for her ears alone.  _Don't mention his appearance, Mia.  He's still a bit touchy about it I believe._

_I can hear you, you know,_ Cye retorted irately.

_What?!  That message was sent to Mia alone.  How did you hear it?_

_I've gotten infinitely better with stuff like this recently,_ he growled, eyes flashing.

Turning numbly, Mia took in Cye's appearance with wide eyes, jaw working silently for a moment.  Thinking frantically, she moved forward, a smile twitching the corners of her mouth upward.

"Cye!" she grinned, moving forward.  "You're were already cute.  You didn't need any help!"

Cye blinked dumbly at the compliment, jaw hanging slack for a moment before his cheeks flared, sending him darting out of the room.

_That worked rather well._

Mia grinned at her slyly.  "Well, he always was on the shy side."

Kento darted past them, heading unerringly towards the platters of food set out on the counters.  Eyebrows raising, Mieren promptly tripped him on the way by, plopping down on his prostrate form.

_You are _not_ eating before the rest of us._

Mia snickered.  "I rather like the way you guard the kitchen."

"But I'm hungry!" Kento wailed.

"Well, _some_ things never change," Anubis muttered as he wandered into the kitchen, grinning at the sight of Kento sprawled across the floor.  Glancing at the food piled heavily in the kitchen, he smiled slightly.  "Need some help?"

"No thanks.  I think I've got it," Mia murmured.

Shrugging at the refusal, he helped her set the table anyway while Mieren kept Kento firmly pinned to the floor, ignoring his loud protests.  When the table was set and everyone had secured a plate of food, Mieren hopped up, letting the furious boy to his feet.  He only glared at her for a second before charging into the dining room.

When dinner was halfway over, conversation began hesitantly.

"Would you guys care to inform me of what the hell is going on?  I didn't much appreciate those four appearing out of thin air in the living room looking for you guys a few hours ago," Mia muttered, gesturing absently at the four former Warlords.

Dais smiled slowly.  "My apologies, Mia.  I had no intention of frightening you.  If you would like, I can make it up to you later tonight."  Ryo choked on his drink, glaring angrily at the older man.

Mia opened her mouth to snap at the man who was still looking at her hungrily, only to be cut off by Kento's startled roar.

"Give that back!"

Mia turned, half expecting to see Mieren with Kento's plate of food.  She choked back a grin when she saw that Sehkmet had confiscated one of the bowls of food and was jealously guarding it from the furious boy.

"Bite me!  I got to it first!  It's mine!"

"The hell it is!  Give me the damn pudding!"

"Hell no!"

Mieren stared at the two fighting over the bowl of the creamy dessert.  Cheek twitching, she decided to end the madness.  Plucking the bowl out of the furious Warlord's hands, she plopped down happily in her seat and proceeded to polish off the little pudding that remained before those two went for each other's throats.

"Hey that was mine!" Sehkmet cried out pitifully.

"The hell it was!  You stole it from me!"

Cale watched the madness for a minute before shaking his head slowly and starting for the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Rowen mumbled around a mouthful of food.

"To make some more pudding so those two idiots don't kill each other," he grumbled as he eyed the two offending persons.

Kayura choked slightly, tears streaming down her face.  Drinking deeply from the fruit punch that Mia had prepared, she stared after Cale, a highly amused expression on her face.

"I wouldn't touch anything that he cooks," she muttered.

"Why not?" Ryo asked suspiciously.

"Let me put it this way," she chuckled, "there are just some people who should not be in a kitchen for any reason."

Rowen sighed.  "I'll pry him out of there," he grumbled, rising slowly and disappearing into the kitchen.

The two walked out of the kitchen a moment later, Cale grinning happily with a bowl in his hands.  Kayura eyed it askance.

"I warn you, don't touch it," she hissed softly.

Cale made a face.  "I heard that."

Rowen blinked slowly.  "It's okay.  He didn't make it.  It was already made when we got there."

Kento and Sehkmet grinned, yanking the bowl out of Cale's hands and battling over it fiercely.  Kento grabbed a spoon and tried to dig into the white cream in the bowl while they grappled, Sehkmet following suit.  Kento was the first to shovel a bite into his mouth, Sehkmet getting in one of his own an instant later.  Both froze immediately, expressions of pure, unadulterated horror flashing across their faces.

Mia cleared her throat.  "Like I was saying when you two started fighting," she growled.  "I didn't make that."

Kento jumped up and ran into the kitchen.  He returned after a moment, smacking Rowen on the back of his head with a resounding crack, Cale getting his own slap immediately afterwards.

"Can't either of you two idiots read?!" he yelled, face purpling.

"What did I do?" Cale whined, rubbing his head.

"You dumped a jar of mayonnaise into a bowl!" he screamed, smacking him again, more forcefully this time.

Rowen covered his head defensively.  "He already had it in the bowl when I got in there!  How was I supposed to know?" he wailed.

Sehkmet was still staring numbly at the bowl in his hands, cheek twitching.  One eye developing a disgusted tick, he yanked the spoon out of his mouth and glared at Cale angrily.  Kento caught the look in his eye and pinned a surprised Cale to the floor, snagging a spare spoon off of the table.  Sehkmet brought the bowl of mayonnaise over, and together, the two began to force-feed the illiterate man.  Cale's face greened before they managed to push a third bite on him.

Mia groaned and dropped her head to the table, Dais, Kayura and Anubis following her example.  Cye and Sage settled on rolling their eyes while Ryo, Rowen and Mieren laughed hysterically at the small war being waged on the floor.

"Would you like me to stop this?" Cye murmured softly, grinning when Mia nodded vigorously.

A few turquoise flamed surrounded him for a moment as he concentrated.  A hole appeared in the floor below the three combatants, who yelped loudly as the fell into the abyss.  Everyone stared blankly at where they had been for a moment before another hole appeared in the ceiling, the three dueling idiots falling out to land in a tangled heap on the floor, groans rising weakly from the mass of arms and legs.

Cye nodded contentedly and went back to his meal, grinning at the incredulous stared leveled in his direction.  Mieren's eyebrows shot to her hairline, her lips pursing thoughtfully.  Rowen blanched.

"I have a feeling that I know how she's going to wake me up tomorrow," he murmured fearfully, snickers rising around the table from the knowing Ronins.  The Warlords only looked at him blankly, Dais's eye narrowing.

"Is that how we're supposed to wake you up?" he asked incredulously.

Kayura looked at him suspiciously.  "And what do you know of this?"

"Rowen's impossible to get up," he mumbled, not looking up from his plate.

Sehkmet glanced up from the floor, eyes shining.  "I know _that_ expression!  What happened?" he called out curiously, suppressing a chuckle.

"Rowen threw him out of the second story window," Ryo snickered.

"It wasn't funny!" Dais snapped at the giggling that shot around the table.

"Mia, shall we evict ourselves from this insanity to the safety of your room?" Dais murmured softly, his tone distinctly inviting.  Mia scowled darkly at him as Ryo rose to pulverize the former Warlord.  Anubis groaned.

"Oh God," Kayura cried, burying her head in her arms.

Ryo decked Dais, and promptly sat down protectively beside Mia, expression murderous.  Not discouraged yet, Dais turned to another woman in the room.

"Mieren," he smiled sweetly, "would you like to see what five hundred years of experience can do for a man?"  Rowen turned purple and began trembling in a righteous fury.  Mieren calmly rose from her seat and climbed into Rowen's lap, wrapping her arms around him possessively, grinning as he returned the gesture.

_Thanks to me, I think that Rowen has a bit more experience in that department than you do, even with all your five hundred years._  Smiling seductively, she looked at Rowen with amused eyes.  She arched one eyebrow slowly.

"You're right, Mieren.  He does look kind of like a virgin," Rowen murmured, blushing slightly.

Dais blanched and choked loudly, clutching his chest as though wounded.

Kayura groaned loudly.  "Here it comes," she muttered.

"Kayura!" he wailed, unable to get any further when she slugged him fiercely before reclaiming her seat at the table.

"Anyone want anything while I'm up?" Cale asked, ignoring the battle and heading for the kitchen.

Several looks of horror flashed at him from across the table, heads shaking fiercely in refusal.

He hadn't been in the kitchen for more than a few seconds before he returned with a loaf of bread, sliding into his chair comfortably.  Pulling out two slices of bread, he began piling various foods onto one slice of the wheat bread, unmentionable things sliding off onto the plate.  Having rounded the table twice, he covered the bread with turkey, salami, beef, potatoes, three types of gravy, a variety of condiments and a fistful of pepper.  He disappeared into the kitchen with his second slice of bread, returning with the bread in one hand and a jar of honey in the other.  Kayura paled when she saw that the bread in his hand was covered in a half inch of peanut butter.  Pouring half of the honey in the jar over the monstrosity of a sandwich occupying his plate, he slapped the peanut butter covered slice of bread on top of the terrifying heap.  Everyone at the table took on a greenish tinge when he lifted the unmentionable combination carefully and took a large bite.

"Oh, gross," Cye gagged out, looking decidedly ill.  He decided immediately that the older man didn't have any living taste buds.

"Does a lack of taste buds and horrifying cooking abilities come with blue hair?" Sage wondered aloud, making a point of not looking at Cale.

"Are you insinuating that someone else cooks like that?" Anubis gasped in horror.

"Yea, Rowen does," Ryo muttered, pushing his plate away from him resolutely, his appetite dead for the night.

"I'm not _nearly_ that bad!" Rowen wailed, face taking on a greenish cast when he glanced over at the former Warlord.

"Who was it that thought that they could heat a can of soup in the microwave?"

"It said microwave for three to four minutes on the can!"

"You blew up the microwave!  The very first day we had the new one, you put an egg in there!" Ryo teased loudly, snickers rising quickly around the room.

"What happens when you put an egg in a microwave?" Kayura murmured, vaguely aware of what a microwave was, unlike the other Warlords, who appeared beyond baffled.

"It explodes," Cye mumbled, wincing as he remembered the mess.

Grinning viciously, Sage joined in the torment.  "Who was it that managed to burn a batch of jello?"  Rowen glared at him angrily.

"That was only twice!"

"Hell, he threw water on the stove to put out the pilot light," Kento snickered.

"It was on fire!"

"The last time he made cookies, he just threw the eggs into the mix, not bothering to remove them from the shells," Cye murmured softly.

"They were just a _little_ crunchy!"

"And he thought that he could substitute yogurt into one recipe when we ran out of milk," Ryo added slyly.

"It's just milk that's aged a little!" Rowen cried out in defense.

Kento was about to continue with the torment when Mieren snagged his plate of food.  He cried out in frustration and lunged to reclaim his plate, swearing loudly.  So far, only he and Sehkmet were still eating after Cale's terrifying display, and despite all of the abandoned plates, she chose to take one of the two in use.  Sehkmet roared with laughter, squawking when his food vanished as well to the only person in the room that could out-eat both him and Kento.

Grinning, Rowen snapped up a rough shield around the two of them, wrapping his arms contentedly around the girl curled up happily in his lap and laughing at Kento's furious antics.  Mieren grinned at him as she finished his dinner off less than a foot in front of him, tossing his plate back to him.  After a moment, she returned Sehkmet's plate too, snickering at his mortified expression.

Rowen leaned forward and whispered something to her, her lips curling upwards in an amused grin.  Sage purposely misinterpreted her expression.

"Planning some fun for later?" he called slyly.

"For now, actually," Rowen murmured, flushing slightly.

"Please continue.  We'd enjoy a show with dinner," Dais snickered, elbowing the blushing Ronin.

_Are you enjoying your dinner, Hardrock?_

Kento eyed his new plate of food fearfully, edging further away from Mieren deliberately.  She only grinned and raised one hand, flames licking her fingers reluctantly for a moment as she concentrated.  Shooting him with a single blast of energy, she leaned back into Rowen's arms and grinned maliciously.

All attention turned to Kento immediately, making him squirm uncomfortably.  Quickly checking to make sure she didn't repeat one of her previous stunts, he sighed in relief when he couldn't see anything wrong with himself.

"She didn't do anything," he smirked happily, grabbing his fork to resume eating.  The sturdy silverware crumpled in his hand, metal being forcefully squished out of the sides of his fist.  Blinking in confusion, he set down the offending implement of destruction and grabbed for another with the same results.

Mia scowled at Mieren darkly.  "What did you do to my silverware?"

_I didn't do anything to the silverware.  It's fine.  Check for yourself._

Inspecting her own fork carefully, she decided that there was nothing wrong with the thing and handed it to Kento.  The metal crumpled under his reaching fingers, much to his disgust and irritation.

"I have had enough of this," he growled.  "What did you do?"

_Nothing much,_ Mieren grinned.

Growling, Kento carefully lifted a fourth fork delicately in his fingers, determined to eat at all costs.  Smiling determinedly, he speared some of the food on his plate, blinking numbly when his fork impaled the plate and the table beneath it.  Amused snickers arose from around the room, except for Mia, who looked as though she could chew nails.

Mieren grinned wickedly and began chanting softly.  Cye blinked, a grin starting to form on the edges of his mouth as she completed the spell.  He was chuckling loudly before she had the chance to throw the spell into Ryo, who blinked and began eyeing the silverware warily.

Ryo looked at Mieren in careful contemplation, eyes narrowing when her expression turned to one of innocence.  Reaching out slowly for his drink, he froze when he tipped it over, jerking his hand back in surprise.  To his incredulous eyes, his entire arm seemed to vanish as he pulled it sharply away, reappearing by his side.  Mia growled and moved to crack him in the back of the head with one palm, gasping in shock when he vanished and appeared on the far side of the room.  Ryo blinked uncertainly, looking to Mieren for answers.  Ronins and Warlords alike gaped.

He stepped forward, intent on shaking her until she either told him what was going on or until she undid whatever she was pulling.  Mieren casually jumped out of Rowen's arms and sidestepped him, staying beyond his reach with graceful, sliding movements.  Before he could try to pin her again, she began powering up again, shooting one last snowy blast at Sage, who choked on a curse and tried to move out of the way.

Sage froze in his tracks when the spell hit him, obviously afraid to move lest he find out the effects of the spell she had cast on him.  Cye chortled loudly.

"Don't worry.  You shouldn't have any trouble moving," he snickered.

"How would you know?" Sage grumped, still not budging.

"I know that spell vaguely.  It's some sort of memory trick."

Sage looked over to where Kento had stopped trying to eat and had moved to help Ryo pin Mieren to the floor and hold her there until she explained what the hell she thought that she was doing.  Kento wasn't able to keep up with the two, falling behind horribly as Ryo and Mieren's movements were blurred by unfathomable speed as they darted around the dining room.  A muscle in his cheek twitched slightly.

Swinging around, he caught Kento's arm as he shot past, yelping in horror as his grip and added weight weren't even noticed by the larger boy.  Kento ended up dragging him around the kitchen nearly twice before he became aware of the squawks emanating from his friend.  Stopping suddenly, he grasped Sage's arms and held him out at arm's length, lifting him easily off of the floor.

"Damn, Sage.  You don't weigh anything!  What did she do to you?"

"I have no idea, but I know what she did to you and Ryo."

At this announcement, Ryo gave up on pursuing Mieren and suddenly appeared at Sage's side, his eyes demanding an explanation.  Sage grinned weakly.

"Remember what she told us about our ancestors?" he murmured, waiting for both Kento and Ryo to nod before pushing on.  "She said that Kento's ancestor liked spells of strength, and that Kento was an embodiment of those powers himself if he ever opted to use his powers.  I think she unlocked your powers," he muttered to a very startled Kento.

"Then what about me?" Ryo asked suddenly.

"She said that your ancestor was a great fighter.  I'd be willing to bet it was partially because he was fast.  Am I right, Mieren?"  Mieren grinned and nodded happily in his direction.  Sage nodded slowly.  "That leaves the question of what you did to me.  you said something about healing and tactical brilliance in my heritage.  I can already heal, and adding onto what Cye said about a memory trick… You unlocked my innate knowledge of fighting tactics, didn't you?"

_Very good, Halo.  You have a wonderful grasp of the blatantly obvious._

Sage blinked slowly.  "Let's get her," he grumbled, snagging Kento and Ryo as they turned to resume the chase.  "Kento, you wait by the door to the kitchen, and get her when she goes by.  After all, she's too fast for you to openly chase.  Ryo, do your best to snag her.  And don't kill her before I get a chance to pound her some," he whispered to the two boys beside him before stalking out of the room.

Ryo glanced at Kento and shrugged before they moved to do as Sage suggested.  Mieren slipped just beyond Ryo's grasp, giggling merrily as he pushed himself for more speed.  Kento stared at the blurs shooting around the room numbly, finally deciding to trip Mieren as she passed.  Steadying himself against the door, carefully lest he break the wall, he stuck out one leg as the blurs approached at a horrifying speed.

With an infuriated cry, Ryo landed face-first on the floor, laughter erupting around the table at his reddening face.

"Kento!"

Kento grinned weakly and backed up with his hands raised defensively, looking around frantically.  Mieren's startled wail caught their attention, forestalling a potentially deadly situation.  The two turned in shock to see Sage firmly holding Mieren in his arms, grinning triumphantly.

"How in the hell did you get her?" Ryo gasped out.

"I knew that you and Kento would eventually end up killing each other trying to catch her, so I left for a moment to keep Mieren from looking for me.  When I heard you two start screaming at each other, I slipped in and snagged her while she was busy laughing at you two idiots."

_You're doing much better in planning, Halo, _Mieren snickered from her precarious position in his arms.  _But I should have you know that you can't catch a demon like that._  With those words, Mieren became translucent and simply walked through the startled boy, moving over to Rowen where he had been hiding from the carnage before dropping her spell and looping one arm around him comfortably.

Sage clicked his tongue at her in disappointment.  Blinking in horror, she looked over to the boy she had her arm around, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw that it was Sage, his spell still fading around him.  Laughing loudly, she planted a large kiss on his lips, surprising him into dropping his hold on her long enough for her to escape.

_I believe that I'm done tormenting everybody for the moment,_ Mieren announced with a grin as she dropped the spells in the room and walked over to place one arm possessively around Rowen.

Dissipating the spells completely, Mieren staggered slightly and clutched Rowen weakly for support.  Eyes narrowing and then closing in pain, she slumped limply into Rowen's supporting arms, quivering like some broken thing.

Dais stopped his laughing himself sick when Mieren first staggered, walking over to the demonic girl in a mixture of confusion and worry.

"What's wrong with her?"

Cye made a face.  "Didn't you guys see it?  There was a backlash of energy when she released the spells she had been holding.  It was strong enough to have killed any one of us, I believe."

"How were you able to see that?" Rowen murmured, not looking away from the girl draped in his arms.  Cye didn't bother to respond, instead reaching up to tweak one of his long pointed ears meaningfully.  Rowen grimaced.  "Oh yea.  That."

Mia wandered over slowly, wading through the cluster of people forming around Rowen and looking at Mieren for a moment before walking over to where Sage had fainted.  "Get up, you pansy," she muttered under her breath as she prodded the unconscious boy, struggling to force him awake.

"I've seen her cast spells much more powerful and complicated than that," Kayura said slowly, eyes narrowing.  "Why would this happen now?"

"I think that kissing Sage killed her," Dais suggested, earning himself several disgusted glares.  "What?"

"I don't think she knows what she's doing yet," Cye murmured absently.

"She's over three thousand!  How can she not know what she's doing?" Sehkmet demanded, making a face.

"You should know, you were there," Cye grumbled.  "When she refused to fight Kento, she unknowingly closed herself off to the darker magics and now is limited to using the lighter arts.  The lighter energies are handled differently and I don't think that she's figured it out yet.  My ancestor tried to tell her what she was supposed to do, but it would appear that she either messed up or is unable to handle the energy properly."

Anubis blanched.  "You mean that she's not going to be helping us fight against Talpa?" he breathed.  Several of the Ronins shook their heads.

"Don't worry about it," Kento said reassuringly.  "She said with our nine armors together and our added skills that we were the stronger of the two groups, so there shouldn't be a problem."  Anubis glanced at him doubtfully.

Sage stumbled over, still looking decidedly pale and throwing murderous glares in Dais's direction, making an occasional face at Mieren.  Leaning over her for a moment, he sighed and straightened.  "I can't do anything for this.  She's going to have a killer migraine tomorrow, but not much else will happen to her.  She just overexerted herself a bit with energy that she didn't understand, if I'm guessing right."

"That's what Cye said," Rowen murmured.

"She's going to have to learn to control her new powers if she intends to fight in the upcoming battles," Sage mused, eyeing Mieren carefully.  He walked over and slapped Rowen on the shoulder.  "I envy you.  She is a _great_ kisser."

Rowen's face flashed to match the color of Ryo's yoroi, creating a few snickers around the room.

Dais's lips twitched as he tried to contain his comment, failing miserably.  "If she can kiss good enough to make you pass out, then it's a wonder that Rowen's still alive after some of his midnight activities."

Rowen did something that everyone in the room would have sworn was impossible only moments before.  He turned redder.  Studying the floor and trying to ignore the hooting in the room, he gathered Mieren up in his arms and moved to leave the snickers behind.  The others followed him into the living room as he headed for the stairs.

"Would you like a few suggestions for her to try?" Dais called loudly, causing the younger boy to stumble, his face threatening to ignite his hair.

Moving into a lumbering run, he bolted up the stairs, depositing Mieren on his bed gently before returning to the living room to the hooting laughter of the others.

"Can't you pick on someone else for a change?" he muttered, pushing Cale off of the couch so he could steal the Warlord's seat.

"What'd I do?" he wailed, looking at where he had been sitting on the couch forlornly and pulling a ridiculous face.

"You were born," Rowen snapped.

Cye snickered softly, deciding to try to cheer the older boy up a little.  "How would you like my arsenal of spells to defend yourself from these brutes?"

Rowen perked up immediately, grinning happily.  "You figured it out?"

Cye nodded and moved forward, snagging his friend's head gently in his slender hands as he began chanting softly.  Rowen blinked.  He didn't remember the original Mouri saying anything when he did this.  He sighed and relaxed, remembering that there were two ways to perform every spell, weaving and speaking.

Rowen began to shift uncomfortably.  The spell was taking forever and his head was beginning to burn fiercely.  His eyes began to tighten with pain, but he was careful not to do anything that might distract Cye, fearful of the effects of a spell cast improperly.

Sage frowned slightly.  "Didn't Mieren say that Mouri awakened Cye's elfin blood to enhance his mental capabilities so that he could handle these spells?"

Everyone froze immediately, looking up to the youngest boy in the room, engulfed in deep turquoise flames.

"You don't think that this will hurt him, do you?" Anubis breathed.

Sage looked at Rowen worriedly.  "Look at his eyes!  It's already hurting him!  I know him, and he doesn't start making faces at something painful until it's about to kill him," Sage hissed, eyes wild.  "Something is wrong.  This spell didn't hurt Cye."

Rowen whimpered against the pain chewing at the inside of his skull, wondering absently how Cye had withstood this without crying out.  He clenched his hands into fists, unaware that his nails were digging into his palms, blood running across his fingers.  Tears began to stream unchecked down his cheeks as he began to arch his back slowly from where he sat stiffly.

"Oh God," Ryo whispered, eyes widening as Rowen whimpered again.

"Cye!  Stop it, you're hurting him!" Sage yelled at the younger boy.  Not receiving a response, he reached out to shake his shoulder, gasping when his hand ran into an invisible wall inches from Cye's trembling form.

Dais jumped to his feet and bolted out of the room, footsteps retreating up the stairs.  A door slammed open somewhere upstairs.  A few moments later, he charged back down the stairs with Mieren hanging from his arms.

"Come on!  Wake up!" he snapped at the limp figure in his arms.

Sage continued to pound on the shield between himself and his best friend, Kento doing his best to break through the thing as well.  Ryo and the Warlords began frantically trying to awaken Mieren, calling her name loudly.  Mia sprinted into the room and threw a glass of cold water on the unconscious girl, shaking her roughly when her eyelids fluttered weakly, a groan escaping her lips.

Rowen howled in pain, muscles no longer responding well enough for him to pull away from his friend.  Whimpering one last time, he went limp on the couch.

Mieren's eyelids jerked open at the sound of Rowen's scream.  She struggled out of Dais's arms immediately, eyes darting around the room quickly as she surveyed the situation, immediately picking out Rowen and Cye.  Darting over to them, she slammed one fist into the turquoise wall keeping the others away, blue flames parting in response to the white.  Stepping through to the two boys, she snagged Cye's head in her hands.

Cye choked and convulsed in her grip, eyes flying open at the raw energy shooting through him.  Mieren took up his chant where he left off, words ringing through the house in harshly snapped syllables.  The turquoise flames boiling around Rowen slowly shifted to a rolling opal, the shimmering waves of power slowly dissipating until they vanished altogether.

Staggering back unsteadily, she slapped Cye with a resounding crack.  Cye only blinked at her numbly for a moment before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out.  Mieren scowled at him darkly, considering thrashing him in his sleep.

She would have fallen to the floor had Sage not caught her, supporting her trembling form as she glared murderously at Cye.

"Will Rowen be okay?" he asked softly, causing Mieren to twitch sharply.

_I don't know,_ she admitted reluctantly.  _Cye did something that should not have been done.  Elfin minds are stronger than human and can take more abuse.  That is how he was able to absorb the information his ancestor gave him.  Mouri tried to strengthen the elfin aspect in his mind to make sure that he survived, and accidentally turned him more elf that he intended.  Rowen has no similar heritage to fall back on._

"Is there anything we can do?" Sage asked softly.

Mieren looked up from Cye and glanced around the room at the nine worried faces regarding her carefully, praying that she could help the unconscious boy.  Sighing, she scrubbed one hand through her hair before sliding to the floor wearily.

_We can't do anything yet, because I don't know if anything is wrong with him.  I'm hoping that his strong magical heritage and his armor will protect him.  There could be no better kanji than that of Life to protect him._

The tense faces around the room and worried thoughts shooting through their heads made Mieren's headache worse and she winced slightly.

"Are you okay?" Sehkmet asked slowly.

_Yea, but keep the mental sending down a bit could you?  My head hurts._

"Um, how do we do that?" Ryo asked slowly.

_Talk softer and concentrate on whispering.  That should help some._

"What should we do?" Mia asked slowly.

_Get all of us to bed.  We should rest, I believe.  Oh, and I suppose you shouldn't really blame Torrent for what he did.  He knew that he was hurting Rowen but was afraid of what would happen if he stopped casting the spell.  If he had stopped, it would have been much worse.  He hasn't the experience to stop spells yet._

"And you do?  With your new energies and all, I mean," Ryo stammered.

_Good point, but I wasn't drawing the energies like I'm supposed to.  I pulled them in the way I have all my life, and will be sick as all hell later for that decision._

"Then why didn't you do it the right way?" Sage asked softly.

_I needed the power to do what I wanted without fail, and that was the only way to make sure it would._

Sage nodded slowly, eyes stinging slightly.  Lifting Mieren carefully in his arms, he started for the stairs, Ryo and Kento following right behind him with Rowen and Cye draped across their shoulders.  Anubis watched them go with haunted eyes.

"Mieren can't control her powers…" Cale murmured softly, eyes worried.

Anubis nodded slowly.  "If Rowen doesn't pull out of this, we've lost."

To Be Continued…

Almost there.  I'm working on it.  R&R!


	10. Part 10

Midnight Shadows

Part 10

By Mieren

It took Rowen four days to die.

On the first morning, Cye awoke to see Kento hovering over him protectively, the dark circles under his eyes indicating that he hadn't slept all night.  Kento raised his hands to his head to scrub his hair out of his face wearily, tears streaming down his pale cheeks and quivering jaw.

"Kento?" he whispered shakily, eyes burning viciously.

"Yea?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

"Is Rowen okay?"

Kento didn't have to respond, the tears streaming down his face told Cye more than any words could.  Moving unsteadily to his feet, he staggered over to the next room, trailing a thick quilt around his shoulders.  Walking into the next room, Cye immediately understood what had shaken Kento so badly.  Rowen lay on his bed, breath rattling softly in his throat.  His eyes were open but he wasn't moving or responding to Sage's trembling voice.  Mieren was curled up next to the bed, snowy flames licking her gaunt form wearily as she struggled to revive the catatonic boy.  Cye tottered over to the edge of the bed.

"Rowen?"

Rowen didn't respond in the slightest, continuing to stare unblinking at the ceiling, body limp and face expressionless.  Cye wasn't aware that his knees had buckled until he slid to the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Oh God, Rowen.  I'm sorry," he whimpered.

Sage swayed over to him, his lack of sleep apparent.  "Mieren's still working on him, Cye.  She thinks that she may be able to do something," he whispered, pulling the trembling boy closer to him.

"I didn't mean to do this," Cye whispered, going limp in Sage's arms.

"We know, Cye.  Rowen may still pull out of it," Sage murmured comfortingly, trying frantically to think of some way to keep the younger boy from going into shock.

"I survived what was done to me because of what I am, didn't I?"

Sage blinked at the unexpected question, nodding numbly.  Cye pressed on.

"Then what if we turn him into an elf?  Won't that save him?"

Sage inhaled sharply.  Damn, he was fast.  He had hoped that Cye wouldn't suggest that.  The suggestion had arisen last night as they tried desperately through the night to think of something they could do for Rowen.  Mieren had crushed the idea promptly, telling them that it was too late, that Rowen's mind was already fried.  He apparently hadn't been keeping his face completely expressionless, because Cye whimpered and went limp in his arms again.

"It's not your fault," Sage murmured, pulling him closer.  "There's no way you could have known."

Mieren's hiss cut him off from comforting the youngest Ronin further.  He immediately moved to her side, wincing as she snagged his forehead.  Sage was aware of his kanji flaring brightly on his head, beginning to tremble as Mieren drained what little was left of his rapidly diminishing energy.  Cye shoved him out of the way and leaned forward slightly.  Mieren didn't hesitate before raiding the small amount of energy that he had recovered from his night of rest.  Cye gasped as his kanji ignited painfully on his forehead, the turquoise light flaring brightly even through Mieren's hand.

Cye toppled to the floor when she released him, not having the energy to hold himself upright.  He was vaguely aware of someone lifting him and carrying him back to his room before he lost consciousness.

On the second day, the Ronins and Warlords took turns going upstairs to contribute energy to whatever Mieren was doing.  As Cye wandered in, he gasped, eyes widening in shock.  Rowen's eyes had flicked in his direction for a moment when he came in.  Cye dropped to his knees by the bed.

"Rowen?" he breathed, eyes stinging.

Rowen only rolled his eyes to the side to acknowledge him, breath rasping thickly in his throat.  He closed his eyes when Mieren placed one hand on his head, white flames enveloping him gently.  Cye sent his energy directly to Mieren without her asking, realizing for the first time that she hadn't paused in whatever she was doing since she had first freed him of the spell that Cye had been casting.

Cye resolved that he would not pass out this time, clutching the edge of the bed forcefully as he struggled to remain upright.  After the flames died out around Rowen, he reached forward to move an oily lock of hair out of his friend's eyes.

Rowen opened his eyes slowly, face tight with pain.  "Cye?" he asked, voice not even a whisper.

"Oh God, Rowen.  I'm sorry.  I didn't mean…"

"I heard you yesterday," he murmured, voice gaining strength slowly.  "You were only trying to help."

Cye opened his mouth to say more but stopped when Rowen let out a deep breath and slumped limply into the pillow, muscles relaxing completely.

Determined to do something to help, Cye heaved himself to his feet, muscles screaming in protest at the movement.  Ignoring his body's protests, he headed down to the kitchen, careful not to wake the Warlords and Ronins sprawled across the living room and dining room, too weary to find somewhere reasonable to sleep.  He only had time to fix a few dishes and eat a plate for himself before collapsing onto the floor in exhaustion.

Nearing noon on the third day of the struggle to keep Rowen alive, Mieren's shriek rang through the house.  The Ronins and Warlords managed to gather in Rowen's room in a matter of seconds despite their weary and aching muscles.

Rowen's eyes were glazed, blue flames whipping around him as he whimpered in protest to the energies that he could not control.  Energies beyond imagination were shooting around the room, one spell leaving Mieren pinned firmly to the wall, growling and thrashing furiously, her dull eyes growing desperate.  The cords of raw power shooting around the small room quickly had everyone pinned securely to the walls and floor.

Crying out frantically, Cye slashed a few of the easier spells, trying desperately to force a shield around Rowen's mind.  The unfathomable energies he was holding made shielding impossible, his mind automatically defending itself.  Distracted slightly, a few of the weavings were dissipated, freeing Ryo and Sage.  Sage began trying to help Cye form a shield, Ryo coming in directly behind him to slam his fist into Rowen's jaw, knocking him out.

Without a controlling mind, the spells in the room died out, freeing the stunned warriors.  Moving stiffly, Mieren drug herself over to the bed and placed a sturdy, and impossibly complex, shield around Rowen's mind before slumping to the floor bonelessly.  She waved the others out as white flames rose around her slowly, beginning her arduous work once more.

On the fourth day, Rowen died.

Mia, the Ronins and Warlords were gathered in the living room, trying halfheartedly to begin a conversation.  Horrifyingly often, pained groans arose from upstairs, occasionally escalating into screams that shook the windows in the house.

Cye buried his head in his hands, on the verge of an emotional breakdown, tears streaming down his cheeks unheeded.  Someone was speaking to him, but he didn't notice or care in the slightest.  His left arm began to burn fiercely, and he cradled it against his chest, whimpering softly and massaging the stinging muscles.  His chest suddenly felt too tight, his heart pounding painfully against his ribs as he looked up to the ceiling, fresh tears following well-worn paths across his cheeks.

Choking on his next breath, Cye blacked out for a moment.  Fighting to draw air into his burning lungs, he became aware of the others around him for the first time in hours.  He cracked his eyes slowly, realizing abruptly that his chest hurt fiercely.  Sage was leaning over him, hair falling across his face in wild disarray as his shoulders made sharp, painful movements up and down.

"Come on!" Sage hissed in time with his movements, tears streaming down his pale face.

A sharp pain erupted in his chest suddenly, causing him to gasp and cry out softly.  He feebly tried to bat Sage away from him as he fought weakly to roll over onto his side, struggling to breathe.  Cye choked slightly, drawing in a deep breath slowly, the air rattling in his throat.  Looking up with bleary eyes, he became aware that the Warlords and his friends were gathered around him, watching him with horrified faces.

"Shit, Cye," Kento breathed, rubbing his shoulder gently.  "Don't do that."

"Do what?" Cye coughed out, struggling to rise.  Kento pushed him firmly back to the floor, intent on keeping there judging by his expression.  He was too tired and sore to protest, so he allowed himself to be pinned to the floor by his mortified friend.  Not getting an answer, he tried to rise to look at his friends, only to be pushed down again.  "Do what?" he growled as best he could.

"Your heart stopped," Sage murmured gently, leaning back against the couch wearily, eyes dull.  "We've been trying to resuscitate you for over thirty minutes now."

Cye was aware that all the blood was draining from his face.  He shook his head slowly, swallowing numbly.  "That's not possible."

Sage looked at him wearily, scrubbing his hair out of his face.  "You were responding a bit differently than I would have expected.  I don't think that any human could have been brought back after that kind of time."

Cye winced at his words, closing his eyes as his hand involuntarily rose and brushed across one of his pointed ears gently.  He didn't have time to say anything.

Cye felt his forehead burn, knowing what the pain of his kanji meant.  He struggled to his feet, no one trying to stop him this time.  Seven other people in the room had frozen, each staring numbly at the stairs as they became aware of the burning on their foreheads, knowing what the searing pain signified, having felt a similar sensation only a few minutes ago when Cye slumped to the floor.

A race began for the stairs an instant before a shrill cry arose from upstairs.  Ten people poured into Rowen's room, freezing at the sight that greeted their eyes.

Mieren was leaning across the bed, an inferno of blinding flames enveloping her skeletal form.  All of her energy was pouring into Rowen, his kanji of Life burning fiercely from behind her hand as she struggled to keep him alive, tears streaming down her face unnoticed.

Rowen's kanji flared behind her hand violently, the blue light almost blinding even though covered.  Delicate tendrils of smoke began to rise from beneath Mieren's left hand, her arm beginning to quiver forcefully.  She hissed furiously, straining for energy that her exhausted body could not handle.  Ever so slowly, his kanji began to fade. Stricken, Mieren staggered back as the light of the kanji, and Rowen, died.

*     *     *

After struggling with Mieren for nearly an hour, Sage gave up trying to pull Rowen's limp form out of her arms.  Trying not to look at his best friend or the girl clinging to him desperately, tears streaking her face, he turned to an equally disturbing sight.  Kento was frantically trying to keep Cye from going into shock and was failing miserably, the younger boy having gone catatonic nearly forty minutes ago, an occasional tear sliding down his face.  Mia clung to Ryo, wracked with sobs as he held her tenderly.

The Warlords had all gone silent, not knowing what to say to comfort people that they had been trying their hardest to kill for months on end.  Surprisingly, Kayura had collapsed into Cale's arms and was now clinging to him as she cried, his comforting words not intelligible past his hoarse breathing.  Sehkmet and Dais stood silently by the door, both pale and completely silent.  Anubis stood numbly by Mieren, giving up his attempts to get Rowen away from her when Sage had moved back in defeat.

Mieren rose slowly, Rowen cradled gently in her arms.  Without tearing her gaze from him, she started out of the room, Sage and the Warlords following her wearily.  Passing through the house in a trance, she started for the front door.  Resolutely, Sage stepped in her way, eyes tearing helplessly when both she and Rowen went translucent and passed through both him and the door.

Sage, Anubis, Sehkmet and Dais followed her outside quickly, determined not to let her get away.  Before she had moved four paces outside, white flames began to lick her wiry form, trailing across the body in her arms as she moved a short distance from the house.  Sage watched helplessly as she stopped suddenly, lowering her head to Rowen's chest and calling out his name softly.  The flames around her leapt higher, making the afternoon sun seem dark by comparison.

He shielded his eyes and tried to move forward, dropping to his knees when he felt something inside of him tear.  Staring blankly ahead, he saw Mieren vanish in a three-story whirlwind of opal flames, an enormous crater remaining on the lawn where she had stood.  Tears streamed down his face when he moved over to the charred earth, his heart throbbing painfully as he whispered his best friend's name one last time.

*     *     *

Mieren returned within the hour, minus Rowen.  Walking into the living room in a cold fury, she scowled at Sage and the Warlords, looking around for the others.  A blinding flash of light shot through the house, everyone who was not in the living room suddenly appearing.  Mieren raised her head imperiously, gathering all attention.

"To arms," she growled, startling everyone into strict attention.  "We attack the Dynasty today.  Now."

Cye snapped out of his blank stare for a moment, looking at her with haunted eyes.  "What good will it do?" he whispered, tears slipping from his eyes.  "We're missing one armor."

For a response, Mieren held up her left hand slowly, blood streaming down her arm.  Rowen's kanji of Life was burned into her palm, the black patches on her hand oozing blood as she stretched the charred flesh.  Anubis jumped as one of the rings on his staff began to clang loudly, frantically.  Mieren's cold eyes caught his gaze when he looked up, thoroughly terrifying him.  He had never seen a gaze so cold, so hollow.

"Armor of Strata.  Dao Inochi," she spat into the silence.  The Ronins and Warlords gaped silently as deep blue flames surged around her, solidifying into Rowen's armor before their disbelieving eyes, the kanji of Life burning on her forehead.

"My God," Sage breathed, eyes burning as he saw his best friend's armor called forth.  Moving forward to inspect her more closely, he saw tears threatening to fall from deep sapphire eyes.  "What have you done?"

"To arms," she snapped, forestalling any further conversation.

Reluctantly, the Ronins and Warlords called forth their armor, watching Mieren numbly as she spun on her heel to walk out of the house and following slowly in her wake.  Once outside, Mieren began chanting fiercely.

White Blaze followed the warriors outside, vanishing in a flash of bluish white flames.  A corresponding flash of light and an infuriated roar from upstairs made it plain what had happened.  A crash of glass came from upstairs as the great cat launched himself out of the window and trotted over to Ryo angrily, glaring at Mieren.

Mieren locked gazes with him for a moment, but did not slow in her wild chanting.  Nodding slowly, she turned away from the massive tiger and rose her arms into the air slowly, energy crackling at her fingertips.  A flash of energy opened a gateway in the middle of the yard, white flames licking its edges with an occasional flash of sapphire.

Mieren started forward, motioning sharply for the others to follow.  The nine warriors fell in behind her, approaching the filmed portal shining dully in the afternoon sun.  Passing through, time seemed to slow, movements becoming difficult and increasingly painful as they moved through the thick gray mist.  Stepping free suddenly, the nine warriors following Mieren gasped.

The area around them was all rolling hills blanketed by thick forests as far as the eye could see.  The sun shone down on them from the same angle as it had in their dimension, but three moons hung on the horizon, barely visible in the midday light.

Mieren seemed to have forgotten them, looking around slowly with glazed eyes and a blank face.  The armor around her vanished in a swirl of blue light as she walked forward slowly, motioning for them to stay were they were.

The Ronins and Warlords all jumped when twisted creatures began to filter out of the trees and congregate around them.  They were all beyond amazed when she began speaking to them in her native tongue, the translations echoing clearly in their minds as the foreign words were spoken.

_"I have returned to do as I claimed earlier today.  I will destroy the warrior of the Starlight Clan with the help of the warriors behind me."_

A beast that looked startlingly like a griffin ambled up to them.  _"I understand your desire to fight, Demaela, but you cannot defeat such a force as that."_

_"I have the power behind me.  These warriors possess armors with incredible strength, but must not be bothered with the Dynasty's demons while they fight.  Will you or will you not come?"_

_"Demaela, what you suggest is suicide.  You have a group of five humans, one elf, a great cat, and three demons.  A pathetic group indeed, no matter what the strength of the armor.  You cannot even begin to fathom the strength the Starlight warrior possesses."_

_"You think not, little brother?"_ she snapped, eyes blazing.

_"Little brother?  Demaela, I am the senior of the clan.  You _will _show respect."_

_"Respect?  You want respect from _me_?  Heh.  The very notion is amusing.  Do you know to whom you speak?"_ she growled, engaging in a contest of wills.

_"We took you in as an orphaned girl thirty years ago.  Have you no gratitude?"_ he demanded haughtily, angry hisses and growls rising from the gathered creatures.

_"Have you no respect for the warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows?"_

Dead silence greeted Mieren as she glared at the griffin in front of her, shoulders rigid and eyes molten fury.

_"Tell me you jest, girl.  You cannot be serious."_

_"My name is not Demaela.  I am Mieren, one of the two Destroyers."_

The griffin had backed several steps away, eyes widening.  _"You're lying.  The warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows is one of the strongest warriors in this or any other dimension."_

_"Try 'the strongest' and you'll have it right."_

The griffin closed its eyes and began to tremble slightly.  _"After all these years, the Destroyer has emerged, and for what?  To lead us to out deaths?  You could not destroy the Starlight warrior three thousand years ago.  Why do you think you can defeat him now?"_

_"Simple, little brother.  I am stronger now and I have the power of the Armor of Chains in my possession."_

The beast's eyes snapped open to regard her carefully.  _"The Armor of Chains?  That's a legend, girl.  Such energies needed to create the armor cannot be handled by a single person as the spell requires.  Surely you didn't make it."_

_"No, I did not.  The Starlight warrior made them to use against this dimension and one other.  When I came in, six of the nine were on my side already.  I converted the other three without too much trouble."_

Many of the demons had long since collapsed to the ground, and those that hadn't looked as though they were about to.  The ancient griffin looked at the Ronins and Warlords speculatively.  _"You're telling me that that odd group has the split version of the armor?"_

_"Not entirely.  Only eight of the group possess armor.  I am the ninth.  The extra person over there is a guardian from the Clan of the Ancients."_

The griffin slowly sank to his knees, bending his head and closing his eyes.  _"You arrived in the lighter flames, so you cannot be the same as your old self as given in the histories,"_ he paused, glancing up at her wearily.  _"I will call the others whenever you so wish it, warrior of the Midnight Shadows."_

_"I wish you to call them _now_.  And if any of you wish to speak to me for any reason, you are to call me Mieren if you want to catch my attention."_

The Ronins and Warlords watched in awe as every demon on the field dropped to a kneeling position, more arriving by the second.  The trees shook as elves began filtering into the ranks, sporting heavy chain mail and intricate weapons that ranged from bows to swords to eerily beautiful weapons that none of them had ever seen before.  A few dwarves wandered into the gathering army, sporting heavy armor and vicious axes and broadswords.

One of the elves walked over to the Ronins, approaching Cye unerringly and dropping to one knee in submission, thick blond mane falling heavily about his shoulders.

_"I give my army to you, bearer of the Torrent."_

Cye started, blinking uncertainly at the others.  He cleared his throat uneasily.  _"I don't want your… I mean that I won't have time to command any men while fighting.  I want you to continue commanding them in my name," _Cye stammered, trying his hardest not to insult what he believed to be the commander of the vast army of elves still building in the clearing.

The elf nodded gravely.  _"If I may ask your name if I am to command under it?"_  When Cye gaped he added quickly, _"I mean no offense, bearer of the Torrent."_

Cye shook his head numbly.  _"My name is Cye Mouri."_

The blond elf looked up suddenly, dark golden eyes nearly bulging out of his head.  _"Mouri?"_

Cye suddenly understood the elf's confusion and shock.  His ancestor had helped to create the Starlight warrior, after all.  He nodded slowly.  The elf cleared his throat roughly.  _"If it would not offend you, might I know the names of the other bearers?"_

Cye looked askance at Mieren, who rolled her eyes at him and nodded sharply.

_"They are Cale, Dais, Sehkmet, Anubis, Ryo Sanada, Kento Fung, and Sage Date,"_ he said slowly, indicating his friends as he moved around the group.  _"The guardian from the Clan of the Ancients is Kayura."_

By this time, the poor commanding elf looked ready to faint.  Steadying himself with an obvious effort, he asked a question that nearly caused Cye to lose it.  _"If I may ask, is the descendant of the Hashiba line here?"_

Cye struggled to hold himself together, eyes misting.  _"The descendant of the Hashiba line is dead,"_ he grated out, tears streaming down his cheeks.  The elfin commander blanched and stepped back, bowing deeply and staying in that position.

_"If it pleases you, you may claim justice for my improper question,"_ he whispered, dropping to one knee with arms outstretched to his sides.

Cye blinked and shook his head.  _"No.  But I ask that you lead the armies in our defense while we fight Talpa."_

_"Yes, Mouri of the Torrent,"_ he murmured, standing slowly and saluting Cye one last time before trotting back to his men.

"Hey, Cye.  You okay?" Kento asked, gripping his shoulder gently.  He nodded quickly, taking a few calming breaths.

Mieren trotted back over to them, the armor of Strata solidifying around her as she neared them.  "The army will be ready in a few minutes," she murmured.

"Question," Sage asked quickly before she could leave again.

"Yes, Sage?"

Sage froze, eyes bulging for a moment.  "Umm, how is it that you can speak?  And when did you figure out our names?"

Mieren only threw him a pained look with liquid sapphire eyes before turning to leave.  Sage caught her shoulder before she had taken two steps.

"And what's wrong with your eyes?"

Mieren twitched in his grasp.  "It came with the armor," she muttered, ripping free of his grasp and darting back to the small group of commanders that was building.

"I don't think that's right," Ryo muttered.

"I wouldn't know," Sage whispered, eyes narrowing.  "I can't tell what she did."

The army in the clearing started stirring, lining up with surprising speed and order into individual groups with their commanders.  Each group was lined up two abreast, weapons held ready if they had any.

"Shit," Cale drawled, eyes bulging.  "There must be thousands of them."

"A little over ten thousand troops," Mieren muttered absently as she approached them again, white flames trailing from her armor.

"Question," Sage started again, refusing to be put off by her furious glare.

"What?"

"Why did they believe you so quickly when you told them who you were?  And how did all these demons, elves, and dwarves gather so quickly?"

"They believed me because who I am is no one that the most senile liar would even joke about.  The army gathered by teleporting to this general area via sorcery."

Sage nodded slowly, summoning his no-dachi when Mieren pulled unfolded her bow and readied an arrow.  Slowly, the others called their weapons forth.  Mieren reached around and tapped Ryo, Sage, and Kento on their shoulders briefly.

"Your powers of speed, intelligence, and strength are now unlocked, respectively.  Use them well in this battle, brothers."

The flames around Mieren intensified for a moment, rising into an inferno of power as she called up dozens of portals onto the field, one in front of each gathered group and one for them.

Mieren sighed softly.  "And thus the last battle has arrived.  The warrior of the Clan of the Midnight Shadows shall once again battle the warrior of the Starlight Clan."

*     *     *

As they stepped into the courtyard of the Dynasty, arrows rained down on them from above, deflecting off of a shimmering dome covering the entire area.  Warriors began pouring out of the portals in tight formation, launching counterattacks immediately, the Dynasty soldiers falling to their onslaught rapidly.

"My God," Cale breathed, the others barely hearing him.  "If they had done this the first time they attacked, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

"The first time I attacked, I was only able to get a few of the demons to follow me here, the rest stayed behind like the cowards they were," Mieren snapped angrily.

"It wouldn't have done much good even if they had," Kayura murmured.  "I don't think you were up to fighting Talpa just then anyway."

Mieren only scowled at her, refusing to respond to her simple statement of fact.  Snapping up her bow, she released a few shots to finish off a couple of Dynasty soldiers that the others weren't having much luck taking out.  Sage watched in appalled silence at the terrifying accuracy with which she handled the bow, his eyes burning as it brought up memories of the last time he had fought alongside his best friend.

Motioning to the others sharply, Mieren began forward in a swift trot.  The Ronins fell in behind her immediately, but Kayura and the Warlords pushed in front of her to lead the way, knowing well the passages and traps.  Hoards of husk soldiers came to oppose them, but none lasted for longer than it took one of them to raise their weapon.

Rounding one of the corners suddenly, the Warlords backpedaled suddenly, nearly tripping over Mieren and the Ronins in their frantic desire to move back.  Mieren growled and raised her hands, bow vanishing in a flash of sapphire flames as she began chanting softly.  Rounding the corner, she threw up her hands and released a vicious spell, the shock wave nearly knocking all of them off of their feet.  Not slowing, Mieren continued down the halls, the others falling in behind her without question.  Cye blanched at the charred six-legged heap on the floor just around the corned, eyes tightening and mouth twisting in disgust.

"You had better damn well start fighting," Mieren snarled over her shoulder.  "When I'm in battle I better not be disturbed if you value your health."

They traveled in silence for a time, the Warlords occasionally releasing a sure-kill upon some of the creatures they encountered roaming the halls.  After the first attack, Mieren refused to fight anything they ran into in the halls, merely stepping back and allowing the Ronins and Warlords to deal with it, White Blaze occasionally pulling down one of the lesser creatures.

Ryo opened his mouth to snap at her to see why she wasn't fighting, but Sage cut him off immediately, recognizing the look on his friend's face.

"She's not fighting because she's conserving her energy for the fight with Talpa," he murmured, Ryo squirming uneasily when his question was anticipated.  "I think she intends to fight it alone while we guard her."

"Not quite, Sage," she muttered as she ran.  "Ryo and I will fight while the rest of you guard us from outside attacks and occasionally lend a hand in the main battle.  Ryo, wait until we get there before calling the Armor of Inferno."

Ryo jerked in surprise, nearly tripping.  "How did you know about that?"

"White Blaze told me," she hissed at him, eyes flashing.  "His carrying the Swords of Fervor is the only reason that I allowed him to come along."

"What would you like us to do?" Sage asked slowly.

"I want everyone to transform the second we get there.  Cye, I want you to throw around spells as quickly as you can cast the things.  Sage, I want you to come up with a good fighting position for the others."

Everyone nodded immediately, Sage with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Anubis, Cale, Sehkmet, and Dais.  I want you four to form a circle around Cye when we get there.  Kento, Kayura and I will circle you five and basically wreak havoc around the room.  In the confusion, Cye should be able to cause a bit of damage while you keep everyone away from him so he doesn't have to stop working to defend himself.  No one will expect us to fight like that," Sage said carefully, earning himself several incredulous looks and one impressed nod from Mieren.  Sage was not known for such daring tactics.

Kento looked around wearily, eyes dull.  "Don't worry, guys.  We'll win this.  One way or another, we'll win."  Several of the guys eyed him questioningly, but no one said anything.

They maintained the silence as they darted through the halls, pulling up short in front of a set of enormous doors.  Dais and Cale nodded to each other and slammed into them, dropping to the ground instantly to get out of the way as Anubis and Sehkmet readied their sure-kills.

The group of ten people and one tiger entered the room cautiously when they encountered no resistance.  A score of elves darted in around them, forming a protective circle around the group, six demons and a dwarf joining their ranks after a moment.

Mieren glared at the group angrily, temper flaring.  _"Stand guard in the halls,"_ she snapped imperiously, waiting for them to vacate the room before spinning on her heels to inspect the surroundings.  She slashed out suddenly with a fierce weave of power, something in the room shattering abruptly in response to her weave.  Lights flickered fitfully along the walls, torches guttering and dying out.  An answering flash of power nearly leveled everyone in the room.

Cye swore when he saw the Warlords and Kayura looking around blankly, unable to see in the blackness like the rest of them could.  Casting a brief illumination spell, he grinned triumphantly as the room lit up suddenly in a fitful light that originated from nowhere and everywhere at once, creating an unnerving absence of shadows.  Dais threw him a grateful look before spinning to counter a blow from a two-headed monstrosity that had wandered into the room.

Cye wobbled and fell to his knees as his armor tightened suddenly, watching in horror as Sage and Kento fell promptly to the furious blows of dark elves that seemed to be crawling out of the woodwork.  His armor flashed a brilliant sea blue.  Answering orange and bright green flashes shot around the room.  Cye looked up with a grin twisting his face.  Ryo had called the Armor of Inferno.

The momentary weakness over, Sage and Kento continued their assaults full force, clearing huge swathes of dark elves from the endless ranks around them.  Fireballs and flashes of lightning ran wildly through the endless numbers, creating piles of unmoving elves and demons.

Grinding his teeth, Cye attempted one of Mieren's spells, summoning forth a dangerous amount of energy as he commanded the floor to swallow the army raging across it.  Ever so slowly, the stones beneath him began to obey, dragging down demon and dark elf alike into the cold depths of the stone before Cye commanded it to release a final crushing blow to its victims.

*     *     *

Sage darted wildly through the endless field of dark elves, slashing his no-dachi frantically to keep the masses of weapons away from his sides.  Growling furiously, he completed his transformation from centaur to half-wolf, kicking out freely with his hooves as the elves stared at him in shock, undoubtedly watching the rippling of his armor as it shifted along with him.

"Iron Rock Crusher!"

Sage spun to face the sound of his friend's voice, golden eyes widening as he saw Kento pulled under a mass of fierce weapons.  He leapt through the air, easily clearing the tiny elves to land almost on top of where his friend had fallen.  He lashed out viciously with his no-dachi to free his friend from the furious blows.  Blinking in surprise, Sage began to frantically scan the room when he didn't see his friend where he had fallen.

The floor erupted on the other side of the room, showering dust and bits of stone onto the terrified army as Kento jumped out of the floor, laughing uproariously.  Sage couldn't help but grin.  It appeared that his cougar-like friend had figured out a bit of elemental manipulation recently and was using it freely.

Kento threw him a peace sign before diving into the floor again, surfacing again halfway across the room, much to the horror and shock of the elves in that area.

Sage grinned and let out a war cry, calling a second no-dachi to his free hand before going into a whirlwind of slashes and blows.  A no-dachi of steel in his right hand and one of emerald flames in his left, he began to tear around the room at full speed, cutting huge swaths in the ranks around him as he ran.  Those unlucky enough to be directly in front of his maniacal charge were crushed by his sheer mass.

He skidded to a halt as he nearly ran over Kayura.  She had backed into a corner and was struggling to hold her own against the innumerable dark elves pressing her in close combat.  Sage ran down the group of elves tormenting the woman and snagged her in his left hand as he temporarily banished his no-dachi of flames.  He nearly lost his arm when Kayura cried out and slashed at him with her swords before she blinked up at him in startled recognition.

Pulling the woman to his side, he concentrated fiercely for a moment, clearing off the ridges on the back of his armor.  Tossing her onto his back, he began his vicious rounds again, chuckling when Kayura began tossing out sure kills from his back while trying to cling to him unsteadily.

"Thanks Sage," she called out over the din, clinging to him frantically when he made a rather sharp turn.

Sage didn't have time to answer when a flash of energy leveled the castle and everything and everyone in it.

*     *     *

Mieren grabbed Ryo's arm and flashed out of the room with him, depositing him roughly to the floor as they appeared in what appeared to be someone's private chambers.  The rooms were luxuriously decorated, fine silks and velvets covering the king-sized bed, carved posts inlaid with gold supporting the canopy.  Ryo gaped at the collection of fine sculptures and vases lining the walls and shelves, mouth hanging limply at the wealth decorating the rooms, White Blaze standing rigid by his side.

Sneering at the fine furnishings, Mieren glanced around angrily, setting fire to the bed and walls with a simple gesture.  The fine fabrics shriveled and melted in the flames, heavy smoke rising through the still air.  Mieren grabbed his arm and teleported again.

Arriving in a huge chamber, Mieren dropped him unceremoniously and tensed, eyes flashing pools of molten sapphire.  She lashed out with one hand, a crack of lightning dissipating a concealing spell, revealing a horrifyingly tall man with white locks falling around his neck and shoulders around the blood red faceplate of the armor covering the entirety of his face.  Heavy armor covered the rest of him, dark gray and black with patches of silver in places.  Eyes glowing crimson from behind his faceplate, he raised a broadsword trailing black flames in front of him.

Before he had time to do more than take a step in their direction, Ryo called the Armor of Inferno, feeling his friends wilt momentarily as their power was drained.  He didn't have time to feel bad about it, rolling frantically out of the way of Talpa's first slash, coming to his feet with fervor swords in his hands.

Mieren walked calmly between them, shifting to her dragon form as she turned to face her opponent.  The blue armor around her rippled in protest, struggling to keep from shifting as thick wings appeared on her back, the forefinger and leading edge covered by subarmor.  Ryo gasped at the wings that formed, eyes watering.  No longer were they black, instead so dark a blue as to appear black, the light reflecting off of her scales in a shimmering sapphire.  Some of her hair spilled from under her helmet, the thick mane no longer the snowy white that he remembered, spilling across her shoulders in pale silvery blue waves.

Rising to her full height on oddly jointed legs, Mieren casually swatted aside the first blow leveled in her direction, chanting wildly.  Ryo blinked.  He _knew_ that spell.  She had been calling out that one when she refused to fight Kento, straining to summon more energy than she could safely handle.  Talpa scowled at her and began in with the same series of words.

Ryo rushed in, slashing out with his fervor swords in an attempt to distract him while Mieren completed the spell she was all but screaming now, wild flames shooting about her serpentine form.  Talpa snarled wordlessly and flung Ryo to the other end of the chamber, resuming his chanting.

_Ryo, to me,_ Mieren's sharp order brought him to his feet and running to her.

Without missing a beat, Mieren began another spell while energies whipped about her, slinging a vicious slash at Talpa while still chanting the first spell.  Talpa cut off his spell with a roar and charged, Ryo blocking the lethal blow from striking Mieren to the ground as she stared blankly ahead.  Looking to the heavens with liquid eyes, she began to speak in the language that Ryo understood, shocking both him and Talpa into momentary stillness.

_Begin your sure-kill._  Ryo blinked but complied, carefully waiting for the last words of her spell before finishing his battle cry.

"Turning against the light, an angel falls from the earth.  He has been banished by the light of the world and dimension.  Turning against the wonders of life, the dark warrior destroys the world.  I will bring about this destruction!  Exodus!"

"Rage of Inferno!"

The Exodus spell combined with Ryo's sure-kill as they shot across the room, Mieren slinging another spell by the blast and maintaining it vehemently.  The newest spell shot by the other two as though they were standing still, slamming into the black dome that Talpa had raised in his defense.  The faster of the attacks liquefied upon impact with the shield, causing the obsidian dome to ripple in protest.  The combination of the Exodus spell and Ryo's sure-kill shot past the shield, passing through it as though it were not there and slamming into the horrified warrior.

The world went white as the powers ignited upon contact with their target.

As the blinding light cleared, Mieren scowled down at Talpa's still form darkly, face twisted into a contemptuous sneer.

"How stupid can you be?" she spat at the unmoving form.  "You fell for the same trick twice.  When will you learn that you can only block a single spell at a time?"

_Not nearly as stupid as yourself, girl, to waste such energies on my shadow._

Mieren spun sharply to face the real Talpa, eyes misting as she saw the thick blade he held to Ryo's throat, having slunk around behind the boy during the explosion without his noticing.  Ryo looked up with clouded eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mieren.  I didn't see him," he whispered, closing his eyes.

Mieren paled slowly, dropping her arms to her side in defeat.

_Come here, or I kill him._

"Mieren, don't!" Ryo called out, squirming in Talpa's iron grip fitfully, ignoring the sting of the sword against his throat.

Mieren looked at him with stormy blue eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks.  Sighing softly, she started forward with her head down, tears falling to the stone floor unheeded.  Talpa sneered as she neared him, jerking the blade harder against Ryo's throat, drawing a thin line of blood.

_Ditch the armor, girl._

She banished the armor as she drew nearer, shifting back into her human form, deep navy blue locks of hair falling about her face, complimenting her shimmering sapphire eyes.  Ryo's breath caught in his throat as she drew nearer, finding himself unable to tear his gaze away from her dull, lifeless eyes.  Talpa slashed out suddenly with his sword, black flames trailing through the air as he cleaved Mieren in half.

Tears slipped from Ryo's eyes as he watched Mieren fall to the floor, mouth working as she struggled to draw a breath that she didn't need, her eyes dimming rapidly.  Snarling, Ryo wrenched free of Talpa's grip now that the sword of black flames no longer pressed against his throat, restricting his movements.

"Rage of Inferno!"

Talpa laughed and raised his hands to block the blast contemptuously, losing control of his shield as a second blast seared him from behind.  Ryo's sure-kill slammed into him as he spun to face his new attacker, nearly knocking him off of his feet when the blast detonated.

As he completed his turn, he began to spit out a spell, freezing in mid-syllable when a scimitar of opal flames, a blue dragon etched on either side of the blade, slid through the breastplate of his armor.  In shock and disbelief, Talpa raised his eyes to the slender girl standing at the scimitar's end, her sapphire eyes seething.

Mieren began speaking, her words running together into an unintelligible slur.  The last word rang out through the Dynasty as she shot the gathered energies through the blade of her scimitar.  "EXODUS!!!"

A bar of molten light surged from Mieren's blade, passing completely through Talpa as the true power of the Exodus spell was revealed to Ryo's disbelieving eyes.  The blinding flash of her spell and his sure-kill was made to look like a joke as the power of the Exodus spell was cast in its full glory by the creator of the spell, leveling the castle and landscape to the horizon and beyond.

*     *     *

Sage was the first of the Ronins to lever himself off of the ground, wincing at the carnage around him.  The castle lay in rubble, broken bodies heaped carelessly in forever growing mounds as a few elves searched through the chaos for survivors.  Gentle hands slid under his arms, easing him to the ground and removing his helmet.

He looked up into the deepest green eyes he had ever seen, the delicate face framed by fire-gold locks of slightly singed hair.  The elfin woman smiled reassuringly at him as she placed one hand on his forehead, delicate golden flames licking her palm.  He sighed in relief as the pain and weariness was washed from him slowly, smiling up at the tattered young woman in gratitude.  Rising slowly, he returned the favor, grinning when she blinked in shock and confusion for a moment before smiling shyly at him in wordless thanks.  She darted off before he could ask her if she had found any of the others.

Looking around at the destruction, Sage slowly came to realize that it would be easier to search in a human form.  Grinning ruefully, he realized why the elfin woman had been so skittish around him.  He was sure that she was not accustomed to seeing something that looked like a bad cross between a centaur and a werewolf.  Shifting back, he banished his armor to begin rooting around in the rubble, straining to move some of the stones even with the help of his subarmor.

A few paces from where he had awakened, he found Kayura.  She was crushed badly by the stones that had been thrown onto her from the explosion and was gasping weakly for breath.  Sage pulled her free, healing her as quickly as his exhausted mind would allow.  Kayura blinked in surprise and began looking around.

"Have you seen any of the others?" she asked softly.

"Not yet.  I just got up myself."

The stones below them erupted into a fountain of pebbles and sand, knocking them both to the ground.  A massive cougar clad in orange and white armor hopped out of the ground, shaking the dust off of himself furiously.

"Kento," Sage growled softly.

"Yea?"

"Watch where you're going."

Kento glanced over to where Sage and Kayura were still sitting on the ground after having been so roughly deposited there.  He grimaced ruefully.

"Uh, sorry."

Sage brushed some of the dust out of his hair, making a face at his friend.  "Have you seen any of the others?"

"Nope.  Just woke up and decided to surface.  Didn't know you were there…"

"Then turn back so you don't scare the elves half to death and help us look."

It didn't take the trio long to find where Cye was buried.  All they had to do was follow the string of cursing that was raging from under a particularly deep pile of rubble.  Kento grinned at one of the phrases that reached his ears, chortling merrily as he remembered how creative Sehkmet could get when upset.

Raising his arms, Kento sent the rubble flying off of the group buried below, smirking knowingly when he saw a molten turquoise dome containing Cye and four Warlords within, all of which were swearing loudly.  Sehkmet and Dais seemed to be engrossed in a competition of who could cause Cye to turn the reddest, and judging by the expression on the younger boy's face, they had been at it for awhile.

Seeing the debris cleared from the shield he had thrown up frantically when he felt the blast coming, Cye let out a deep breath and allowed the pale blue dome to dissipate.  Hopping out of the hole, obviously eager to be away from the Warlords, he trotted over to Sage quickly.

"Have you seen Ryo or Mieren?" he asked, voice thick with worry.

Sage blinked, suddenly realizing what the Warlords had been up to.  They hadn't been trying to drive him up the wall for their own amusement.  Their efforts had been to keep him from having a nervous breakdown by driving him to the brink of insanity. Realizing that his silence could be taken the wrong way, he cleared his throat and tried to reassure the younger boy.

"We just barely got ourselves out.  Haven't really had too much time to look."

Cye nodded and began chanting softly.  A bar of sea blue light shot into the sky above where he stood, answering lights shooting up around Sage, Kento and the Warlords.  Looking around frantically, Cye finally spotted what he was looking for, a pale bar of red light on the other side of where the castle used to be, a flickering aura of blue a few paces from it.

The others followed in a mad dash as Cye sprinted across the pile of stones that used to be a castle, heading unerringly towards where he had seen the flash of light.

Seeing an arm covered in red and white armor, Cye began flinging stones rapidly out of his way, falling back when the remaining debris shifted to the side suddenly, telltale traces of golden orange energy trailing from the mass of shattered rocks.

White Blaze jumped out of the rubble and off of his master, roaring angrily and shaking the dirt out of his thick fur as he glanced around irately.  Snorting softly, he grabbed Ryo's arm and finished pulling the boy of the ground, snuffling his face gently.  Ryo groaned and twitched weakly.

Sage pushed by Cye and knelt down by Ryo, taking his friend's head in his hands and concentrating fiercely.  He hissed angrily when his energies tried to die out on him, blinking in surprise when bronze flames rose around him, steadying his powers.  He looked up at Kayura in shock, staring numbly at her answering shrug.

"I didn't know you could do that," he murmured as he turned back to Ryo.

"You learn a few things hanging around people like Mieren, you know."

Sage grinned wryly, concentrating his energies into healing the tattered remains of his friend.  He was relieved when Ryo was feeling well enough to take a wild swing at him, nearly decking him in his blind attack.

"Calm down, Ryo.  It's just me."

Ryo blinked uncertainly, squinting slightly.  He hadn't closed his eyes in time when Mieren cast the Exodus spell at its full strength and was still having trouble seeing.  He was certain that he would have been blind had Sage not healed him.  Grumbling something about Mieren that Sage was sure wasn't complimentary, Ryo pushed himself stiffly to his feet, swaying slightly.

Sage looked up at Cye's startled gasp, brushing past the Warlords and a stunned Kento to move over to the still form lying on the ground.  A sharp breath hissed through his teeth when he saw what they were looking at.

Mieren lay curled up in a fetal position on the ground, still quivering from the strain of casting the last spell.  Sapphire eyes stared ahead blankly, matching blue locks of hair falling across her bloody face.  Rowen's armor orb sparked softly from her hand, catching the meager light from the angry red sun on the horizon.  Sage dropped to his knees beside her, eyes misting.  He didn't bother trying to heal her, knowing that she wasn't sporting any wounds.  The blood covering her was not her own.  He leaned forward slowly, lifting a few strands of bright blue hair in one hand gingerly.

"What have you done?" he asked for the second time that day.

She looked at him blankly for a moment, opening her mouth to speak but stopping in confusion.  Her lips twisted wryly when she noted the blue hair in his hand.

"It would appear that I have accepted the armor," she said slowly, rising shakily to her feet.  Snowy membranous wings appeared from behind her, wrapping around her firmly as she shivered slightly in the still air.  "As to what else I have done, I have defeated the Starlight warrior after three thousand years of waiting."

Everyone around her started at her casual statement of her actions.  "Are you sure?" Kayura breathed.  Mieren smiled weakly and nodded, leaning against the woman for support when she staggered slightly, too weary to remain upright.  Kayura smiled hesitantly, slipping one arm around the trembling figure.

"Come.  I will open a gateway back to your dimension."

Cye looked over to her sadly, nodding jerkily.  A flash of white light enveloped Mieren for a moment, fading from around her as a portal opened a few feet from them.  Noticing Mieren's wobbling, the Warlords hurried through, followed by White Blaze and the others there.  Cye hung back, watching as Kayura motioned him towards the gateway.  Lifting Mieren off of Kayura, he motioned for her to continue without him.

"You can let go of the portal.  I can create one for myself," he murmured.

Mieren regarded him carefully for a moment, shrugging and dropping her weaving.  Letting go of the young boy, she slid to the ground, sighing heavily.

"You wanted to speak to me alone, I take it."

Cye nodded slowly.  "Why is it that you can use Rowen's armor?" he whispered, choking on his friend's name.

Mieren looked away from him for a moment, staring blankly across the endless ruins of the dimension.  Occasional portals winked in and out as groups of demons and elves called them forth to return home.  Sighing weakly, she turned her eyes to the young elfin boy regarding her with watering eyes and a quivering jaw.

"It was created by magic from my dimension.  Being the strongest in the ability to use the arts, naturally I was able to control it, magic being quite simple to manipulate if you are familiar with the spell.  I ask that you allow me to keep the armor orb."

Cye blinked.  "You aren't intending on coming back with us, are you?"

"No.  There is nothing for me there, now.  I am going back to my dimension.  For the first time in three centuries, the people there will accept who I am, and I long to be with my own kind."

"What about Ryo, Sage and Kento?"

"What about them?"

Cye smiled weakly.  "Aren't they your own kind?"

"Physically, yes.  Mentally, no."

"One last thing.  What happened to Rowen?"

Mieren blinked slowly, tears threatening to fall from her sapphire eyes.  "He died.  You know that, so why must you ask?"

"Then what happened to your eyes?  And your hair?"

"Comes with taking possession of the armor forcefully.  If I forced your armor off on someone else, their eyes would turn sea blue and their hair reddish auburn.  Natural selection of the armor would not have caused any of this.  There's nothing that I can really do about it."

"Why can you speak?"

"Having this armor creates a link between myself and the others with the Armors of Chains.  I can hear your minds if I listen, and so can speak."

Nodding wearily, Cye pushed himself to his feet.  "Is there no way I can talk you into coming back with me?"

"No, Cye.  I will not go back."

Sighing softly, he turned away from Mieren, eyes watering.  Without saying anything, he opened a gateway of his own and stepped through into Mia's yard.

He was immediately bombarded with questions, none of which he was in the mood to answer just then.

Everyone fell silent as he looked up with dull eyes.  "Mieren's gone back to her dimension.  She said that she wanted to go home, to be with her own kind.  And she kept the armor orb."

Silence greeted him when he finished.  Sage was the first to clear his throat and ask a question that the others couldn't bear to put words to.

"Did you find out about the armor?"

"Yea," he sighed.  "She said that she can manipulate any type of magic she recognizes.  Her eyes and her hair changed to what they are because of the armor.  If we gave our armor to anyone else, their hair and eyes would change to match ours.  It also creates some sort of mental link so she can speak."

Silence swamped the yard for the second time.  Mia finally noticed that they were back and sprinted into the yard, eyeing them carefully.

"What happened?" she asked, her eyes demanding an explanation.

"We won and Mieren went home," Ryo summed up, turning to go inside.

Cye's eyes misted.  He could still feel the pain tearing at Mieren's mind from when she had cradled Rowen in her arms, tears streaming down her pale cheeks.

The others followed Ryo silently.  No words could ease the pain tearing at their minds now that the heat of battle was over or describe the burning in their minds and hearts arising from the loss of their friends.  Nothing anyone could say would change the fact that they had lost a close friend and that a member of their group had abandoned them.

End of Midnight Shadows

To be continued in Obsidian Fires

Not that this story is a bit long here… coming in at 264 pages!  And that's only THIS part!!!  I think I need to be committed to a loony bin for this.

Oh, and for anyone who's curious, yes, this is where I picked up my penname.  Certain people seem to think that the main character was based on me (it wasn't intentional, it just kinda happened), so I got stuck with it.

R&R!  For the love of all things slimy and perverse, R&R.  If I can write something this long, you can take a few seconds to tell me you love me.  Not that I'm shamelessly begging or anything.  I will if I have to, don't make me do it.  Review!


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